tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11431893266484341552018-03-06T17:58:00.306-08:00Persian Gulf WarIraq/Kuwait/Persian Gulf War 91-92Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-12190849448581987432010-12-14T05:57:00.000-08:002010-12-14T06:10:27.234-08:00Iraq Invasion of Kuwait<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TQd6xpRdIhI/AAAAAAAAATE/TNF8_jFHKoM/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TQd6xpRdIhI/AAAAAAAAATE/TNF8_jFHKoM/s320/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550540059068670482" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><p>The <b>Iraq Invasion of Kuwait</b>, also known as the <b>Iraq-Kuwait War</b>, was a major conflict between the <span class="mw-redirect">Republic of Iraq</span> and the <span class="mw-redirect">State of Kuwait</span>, which resulted in the seven-month long Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, which subsequently led to direct military intervention by United States-led forces in the Gulf War.</p> <p>In 1990, Iraq accused Kuwait of stealing Iraqi oil through <span class="mw-redirect">slant drilling</span>, however some Iraqi sources indicated Saddam Hussein’s decision to attack Kuwait was made only a few months before the actual invasion<sup id="cite_ref-fawcett_6-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> suggesting that the regime was under feelings of severe time pressure. Some feel there were several reasons for the Iraq move, including Iraq's inability to pay more than $80 billion that had been borrowed to finance the war with Iran and also Kuwaiti overproduction of oil which kept oil revenues down for Iraq.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><span>[</span>8<span>]</span></sup> The invasion started on August 2, 1990, and within two days of intense combat, most of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces were either overrun by the <span class="mw-redirect">Iraqi Republican Guard</span> or escaped to neighboring Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The state of Kuwait was annexed, and Saddam announced in a few days that it was the 19th province of Iraq.</p><h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Causes_of_the_conflict">Causes of the Iraq Invade Kuwait<br /></span></h2> <p>Kuwait was a close ally of Iraq during the <span class="mw-redirect">Iraq-Iran war</span> and functioned as the country’s major port once Basra was shut down by the fighting.<sup id="cite_ref-stork_8-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> However, after the war ended, the friendly relations between the two neighbouring <span class="mw-redirect">Arab</span> countries turned sour due to several economic and diplomatic reasons that finally culminated in an Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.</p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Dispute_over_the_financial_debt">Dispute over the financial debt</span></h3> <p>Kuwait had heavily funded the 8-year-long Iraqi war against Iran. By the time the war ended, Iraq was not in a financial position to repay the $14 billion it borrowed from Kuwait to finance its war.<sup id="cite_ref-airCombatInformationGroup_4-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Iraq argued that the war had prevented the rise of Iranian influence in the Arab World. However, Kuwait's reluctance to pardon the debt created strains in the relationship between the two Arab countries. During late 1989, several official meetings were held between the Kuwaiti and Iraqi leaders but they were unable to break the deadlock between the two.</p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Economic_warfare_and_slant_drilling">Economic warfare and slant drilling</span></h3> <p>According to George Piro, the FBI interrogator who questioned Saddam Hussein after his capture (in 2003), Iraq tried repaying its debts by raising the prices of oil through OPEC's oil production cuts. However, Kuwait, a member of the OPEC, prevented a global increase in petroleum prices by increasing its own petroleum production, thus lowering the price and preventing recovery of the war-crippled Iraqi economy.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> This was seen by many in Iraq as an act of aggression, further distancing the countries. The collapse in oil prices had a catastrophic impact on the Iraqi economy. According to former Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz, "every US$1 drop in the price of a barrel of oil caused a US$1 billion drop in Iraq's annual revenues triggering an acute financial crisis in Baghdad."<sup id="cite_ref-stork_8-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> It was estimated that Iraq lost US$14 billion a year due to Kuwait's oil price strategy.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The Iraqi Government described it as a form of 'economic warfare,' which it claimed was aggravated by Kuwait's alleged slant-drilling across the border into Iraq's <span class="mw-redirect">Rumaila field</span>. The dispute over Rumaila field started in 1960 when an Arab League declaration marked the Iraq-Kuwait border 2 miles north of the southern-most tip of the Rumaila field.<sup id="cite_ref-hayes_11-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> During the Iran–Iraq War, Iraqi oil drilling operations in Rumaila declined while Kuwait's operations increased. In 1989, Iraq accused Kuwait of using "advanced drilling techniques" to exploit oil from its share of the Rumaila field. Iraq estimated that US$2.4 billion worth of Iraqi oil was stolen by Kuwait and demanded compensation.<sup id="cite_ref-gregory_12-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Kuwait dismissed the accusations as a false Iraqi ploy to justify military action against it. Several foreign firms working in the Rumaila field also dismissed Iraq's slant-drilling claims as a "smokescreen to disguise Iraq's more ambitious intentions".<sup id="cite_ref-hayes_11-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>On July 25, 1990, only a few days before the Iraqi invasion, OPEC officials said that Kuwait and United Arab Emirates had agreed to a proposal to limit daily oil output to 1.5 million barrels, thus potentially settling differences over oil policy between Kuwait and Iraq.<sup id="cite_ref-NY_13-0" class="reference"><span></span></sup> At the time of the settlement, more than 100,000 Iraqi troops were deployed along Iraq-Kuwait border and American officials expressed little indication of decline in tensions despite the OPEC settlement.<sup id="cite_ref-friedman_14-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Diplomatic_row">Diplomatic row</span></h3> <p>Post Iran–Iraq War and dispute over Rumaila oilfield, the diplomatic relations between Iraq and Kuwait deteriorated dramatically triggering several heated exchanges between Iraqi and Kuwaiti diplomats during various regional and <span class="mw-redirect">Gulf Cooperation Council</span> summits.</p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Iraqi_hegemonic_claims">Iraqi hegemonic claims</span></h3> <p>Though Kuwait's large oil reserves were widely considered to be the main reason behind the Iraqi invasion, the Iraqi government justified its invasion by claiming that Kuwait was a natural part of Iraq carved off due to British imperialism.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> After signing the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913, the United Kingdom split Kuwait from the Ottoman territories into a separate <i>sheikhdom</i>. The Iraqi government also argued that the Kuwaiti Emir was a highly unpopular figure among the Kuwaiti populace. By overthrowing the Emir, Iraq claimed that it granted Kuwaitis greater economic and political freedom.<sup id="cite_ref-airCombatInformationGroup_4-2" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Kuwait had been part of the Ottoman province of Basra, and although its ruling dynasty, the al-Sabah family, had concluded a protectorate agreement in 1899 that assigned responsibility for its foreign affairs to Britain, it did not make any attempt to secede from the Ottoman Empire. For this reason, its borders with the rest of Basra province were never clearly defined or mutually agreed. Furthermore, Iraq alleged that the British High Commissioner "drew lines that deliberately constricted Iraq's access to the ocean so that any future Iraqi government would be in no position to threaten Britain's domination of the Persian Gulf".<sup id="cite_ref-gregory_12-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Alleged_international_conspiracy">Alleged international conspiracy</span></h3>Saddam Hussein’s decision to invade Kuwait partly came as a reaction towards the alleged<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" title="The material in the vicinity of this tag seems to express a non-neutral point of view from July 2010" style="white-space: nowrap;"><i><span class="mw-redirect"></span></i></sup> international conspiracy against Iraq, which, in Saddam's view, was meant to weaken and destabilize the Ba'athist regime. Subtle shifts in the American policy together with the British and American efforts to block the export of dual-use technology to Iraq, a consequence of its nuclear program, were seen by Saddam as part of a concerted effort to build a case against Iraq.<sup id="cite_ref-fawcett_6-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> In this conspiracy theory<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" title="The material in the vicinity of this tag seems to express a non-neutral point of view from July 2010" style="white-space: nowrap;"><i><span class="mw-redirect"></span></i></sup>, Kuwait was considered an accomplice of the foreign powers. In a memorandum dating from July 1990, the former Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz accused Kuwait and the UAE of production beyond their OPEC quotas and claimed that the overproduction was synchronized with the efforts of foreign powers to denigrate Iraq.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Kellner argues that the fact that Kuwait refused to negotiate with a dangerous Iraq and risked being invaded by it sustains the theory according to which Kuwait had received tacit support from the U.S. even before the war started.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> At the same time the Iraqi military intelligence was receiving warnings about Israeli plans to attack Iraqi nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Saddam was convinced of the existence of a conspiracy and even described it to Wafiq al-Samara’i, deputy director of Iraqi military intelligence as follows: <blockquote> <p>“America is coordinating with Saudi Arabia and the UAE and Kuwait in a conspiracy against us. They are trying to reduce the price of oil to affect our military industries and our scientific research, to force us to reduce the size of our armed forces....You must expect from another direction an Israeli military air strike, or more than one, to destroy some of our important targets as part of this conspiracy”<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> </blockquote> <p>Following the invasion, Saddam’s unwillingness to accept a negotiated solution to the Kuwait crisis once again sustains the hypothesis that the fear of Iraq's domestic and economic destabilization was the most important factor that contributed to his invasion decision.<sup id="cite_ref-fawcett_6-2" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h2><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Iraqi-American_relations">Iraqi-American relations</span></h2> <p>On July 25, 1990, the U.S. Ambassador in Iraq, April Glaspie, asked the Iraqi high command to explain the military preparations in progress, including the massing of Iraqi troops near the border.</p> <p>The American ambassador declared to her Iraqi interlocutor that Washington, “inspired by the friendship and not by confrontation, does not have an opinion” on the disagreement between Kuwait and Iraq, stating "we have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts."</p> <p>She also let Saddam Hussein know that the U.S. did not intend "to start an economic war against Iraq". These statements may have caused Saddam to believe he had received a diplomatic green light from the United States to invade Kuwait.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>According to Prof. Richard E. Rubenstein, Glaspie was later asked by British journalists why she had said that, her response was "we didn't think he would go that far" meaning take the whole county. Although no follow-up question was asked, one might assume that what the US government thought was that Saddam Hussein would take only the oil field. <sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h2><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Invasion">The Invasion of Kuwait<br /></span></h2>On August 2, 1990 at 2:00 am,<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> local time, Iraq launched an invasion of Kuwait with four elite <span class="mw-redirect">Iraqi Republican Guard</span> divisions (1st Hammurabi <span class="mw-redirect">Armoured</span> Division, 2nd al-Medinah al-Munawera Armoured Division, 3rd Tawalkalna ala-Allah <span class="mw-redirect">Mechanized Infantry</span> Division and 6th <span class="mw-redirect">Nebuchadnezzar</span> Motorized Infantry Division) and Iraqi Army special forces units equivalent to a full division. The main thrust was conducted by the commandos deployed by helicopters and boats to attack Kuwait City(see <span class="mw-redirect">The Battle of Dasman Palace</span>), while the other divisions seized the <span class="mw-redirect">airports</span> and two <span class="mw-redirect">airbases</span>. <p>In support of these units, the Iraqi Army deployed a squadron of <span class="mw-redirect">Mil Mi-25</span> <span class="mw-redirect">helicopter gunships</span>, several units of Mi-8 and <span class="mw-redirect">Mi-17</span> transport helicopters, as well as a squadron of Bell 412 helicopters. The foremost mission of the helicopter units was to transport and support Iraqi commandos into Kuwait City, and subsequently to support the advance of ground troops. The Iraqi Air Force (IrAF) had at least two squadrons of <span class="mw-redirect">Sukhoi Su-22</span>, one of <span class="mw-redirect">Su-25</span>, one of <span class="mw-redirect">Mirage F1</span> and two of <span class="mw-redirect">MiG-23</span> <span class="mw-redirect">fighter-bombers</span>. The main task of the IrAF was to establish <span class="mw-redirect">air superiority</span> through limited counter-air strikes against two main air bases of <span class="mw-redirect">Kuwaiti Air Force</span>, whose planes consisted mainly of <span class="mw-redirect">Mirage F1</span>'s and Douglas (T)A-4KU <span class="mw-redirect">Skyhawks</span>.</p> <p>In spite of months of Iraqi <span class="mw-redirect">sabre-rattling</span>, Kuwait did not have its forces on alert and was caught unaware. The first indication of the Iraqi ground advance was from a radar-equipped aerostat that detected an Iraqi armour column moving south.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Kuwaiti air, ground, and naval forces resisted, but were vastly outnumbered. In central Kuwait, the 35th Armoured Brigade deployed approximately a battalion of Chieftain tanks, BMPs, and an Artillery piece against the Iraqis and fought delaying actions near Al Jahra (see <span class="mw-redirect">The Battle of the Bridges</span>), west of Kuwait City.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> In the south, the 15th Armoured Brigade moved immediately to evacuate its forces to Saudi Arabia. Of the small Kuwaiti Navy, two missile boats were able to evade capture or destruction.</p> <p>Kuwait Air Force aircraft were scrambled, but approximately 20% were lost or captured. An air battle with the Iraqi helicopter airborne forces was fought over Kuwait City, inflicting heavy losses on the Iraqi elite troops, and a few combat sorties were flown against Iraqi ground forces. The remaining 80% were then evacuated to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, some aircraft even taking off from the highways adjacent to the bases as the runways were overrun. While these aircraft were not used in support of the subsequent Gulf War, the "Free Kuwait Air Force" assisted Saudi Arabia in patrolling the southern border with Yemen, which was considered a threat by the Saudis because of Yemen-Iraq ties.<sup id="cite_ref-airCombatInformationGroup_4-3" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Iraqi troops attacked <span class="new">Dasman Palace</span>, the Royal Residence, resulting in the Battle of Dasman Palace. The Kuwaiti Emiri Guard, supported by local police and M84 tanks managed to repel an Airborne assault by Iraqi Special Forces, but the Palace fell after a landing by Iraqi Marines (Dasman Palace is located on the coast). The Kuwaiti National Guard, as well as additional Emiri Guards arrived, but the palace remained occupied, and Republican Guard tanks rolled into Kuwait City after several hours of heavy fighting.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The <span class="mw-redirect">Emir of Kuwait</span>, Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah had already fled into the Saudi desert. His younger <span class="mw-redirect">half brother</span>, Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, was shot and killed by invading Iraqi forces as he attempted to defend Dasman Palace after which his body was placed in front of a tank and run over according to an Iraqi soldier who was present and deserted after the assault.<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>By the end of the first day of the invasion, only pockets of resistance were left in the country. By August 3, the last military units were desperately fighting delaying actions in choke points, and other defensible positions throughout the country until out of ammunition or overrun by Iraqi forces. Ali al-Salim air base of the Kuwaiti Air Force was the only base still unoccupied on August 3, and Kuwaiti Aircraft flew resupply missions from Saudi Arabia throughout the day in an effort to mount a defense, however by nightfall, Ali al-Salim air base was overrun by Iraqi forces. From then on it was only a matter of time until all units of the Kuwaiti Military were forced to retreat or be overrun.</p> <p>The last few Kuwaiti Chieftain tanks of the 35th Mechanized Brigade have fought until the afternoon of 4 August; left without ammunition and fuel, they were then forced to pull back into Saudi Arabia as well. This effectively ended the military resistance to the Iraqi invasion.</p> <h2><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Aftermath">Aftermath: Iraq Invasion of Kuwait<br /></span></h2>After the decisive Iraqi victory, Saddam Hussein installed Alaa Hussein Ali as the <span class="mw-redirect">Prime Minister</span> and Ali Hassan al-Majid as the de facto governor of Kuwait.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The exiled Kuwaiti royal family and other former government officials began an international campaign to persuade other countries to pressure Iraq to vacate Kuwait. The <span class="mw-redirect">UN Security Council</span> passed 12 resolutions demanding immediate withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Kuwait, but to no avail.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> <p>Following the events of the Iraq-Kuwait war, about half of the Kuwaiti population,<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> including more than 400,000 Kuwaits and several thousand foreign nationals, fled the country. More than 150,000 Indian nationals living in Kuwait were air-lifted by the Indian government within a span of a week.<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> However, the Iraqi invasion was welcomed by the <span class="mw-redirect">Palestinian Liberation Organization</span> and some of the 400,000 <span class="mw-redirect">Palestinians</span> living in Kuwait. Alaa Hussein Ali was placed as head of a <span class="mw-redirect">puppet government</span> in Kuwait, prior to its brief annexation into Iraq.</p> <p>During the 7 month-long Iraqi occupation, the forces of Saddam Hussein allegedly looted Kuwait's vast wealth and there were also reports of violations of human rights.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> According to some independent organizations, about 600 Kuwaiti nationals were taken to Iraq and haven't yet been accounted for.<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> A 2005 study revealed that the Iraqi occupation had a long-term adverse impact on the health of the Kuwaiti populace.<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span> <span class="mw-headline" id="International_condemnation_and_Gulf_War">International condemnation and Gulf War</span></h3>After Iraqi forces invaded and annexed Kuwait and Saddam Hussein, deposed the Amir of Kuwait, Jaber Al-Sabah, he installed Ali Hassan al-Majid as the new governor of Kuwait.<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> <p>The Iraqi invasion and occupation of Kuwait was unanimously condemned by all major world powers. Even countries traditionally considered to be close Iraqi allies, such as France and India, called for immediate withdrawal of all Iraqi forces from Kuwait.<sup id="cite_ref-Global_35-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Several countries, such as the USSR and China, placed arms embargo on Iraq.<sup id="cite_ref-Global_35-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> NATO members were particularly critical of the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait and by late 1990, the United States had issued an ultimatum to Iraq to withdraw its forces from Kuwait by January 15, 1991 or face war.<sup id="cite_ref-friedman_14-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>On August 3, 1990, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 660 condemning the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and demanded Iraq to unconditionally withdraw all forces deployed in Kuwait.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>After series of failed negotiations between major world powers and Iraq, the United States-led coalition launched a massive <span class="mw-redirect">military assault</span> on Iraqi forces stationed in Kuwait in mid January 1991. By January 16, the Allied planes were targeting several Iraqi military sites and the Iraqi Air Force was said to be "decimated".<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Hostilities continued until late February and on February 25, Kuwait was officially liberated from Iraq.<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> On March 15, 1991, the Emir of Kuwait returned to the country after spending more than 8 months in exile.<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> During the Iraqi occupation, about 1,000 Kuwaiti civilians were killed and more than 300,000 residents fled the country.<sup id="cite_ref-41" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Post-Gulf_War">Post-Gulf War</span></h3> <p>In December 2002, Saddam Hussein apologized for the invasion shortly before being deposed in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.<sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Two years later, the Palestinian leadership also apologized for its wartime support of Saddam.<sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><span></span></sup></p></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-87193063151976695162010-11-28T05:05:00.000-08:002010-12-09T02:15:43.533-08:00Cost of Persian Gulf War<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TPJUMsoxXFI/AAAAAAAAASA/zdwdleZLa3g/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 272px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TPJUMsoxXFI/AAAAAAAAASA/zdwdleZLa3g/s320/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544586668363832402" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cost of Persian Gulf War by Country</span>: The cost of the war to the United States was calculated by the United States Congress to be $61.1 billion. About $52 billion of that amount was paid by different countries around the world:<br /><ul><li>$36 billion by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf States; </li><li>$16 billion by Germany and Japan (which sent no combat forces due to their constitutions). </li></ul><br />About 25% of Saudi Arabia's contribution was paid in the form of in-kind services to the troops, such as food and <span class="mw-redirect">transportation</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-autogenerated2_105-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> U.S. troops represented about 74% of the combined force, and the global cost was therefore higher.</div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-11806495748473165552010-11-28T04:59:00.000-08:002010-11-28T05:04:59.580-08:00Kuwaiti Oil Fires<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TPJTFCqfKyI/AAAAAAAAAR4/1JpJ31aF_0A/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TPJTFCqfKyI/AAAAAAAAAR4/1JpJ31aF_0A/s320/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544585437326027554" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><p>The Kuwaiti oil fires were caused by Iraqi <span class="mw-redirect">military forces</span> setting fire to 700 oil wells as part of a scorched earth policy while retreating from Kuwait in 1991 after conquering the country but being driven out by Coalition military forces. The fires started in January and February 1991 and the last one was extinguished by November 1991.<sup id="cite_ref-103" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The resulting fires burned out of control because of the dangers of sending in firefighting crews. <span class="mw-redirect">Land mines</span> had been placed in areas around the oil wells, and a military cleaning of the areas was necessary before the fires could be put out. Somewhere around 6 million barrels (950,000 m<sup>3</sup>) of oil were lost each day. Eventually, privately contracted crews extinguished the fires, at a total cost of <span class="mw-redirect">US$</span>1.5 billion to Kuwait.<sup id="cite_ref-104" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> By that time, however, the fires had burned for approximately ten months, causing widespread pollution.</p><p>The byproducts of the petroleum burn caused pollution to the soil and air, and the oil fires have been linked with what was later called <span class="mw-redirect">Gulf War Syndrome</span>, however, studies have indicated that the firemen who capped the wells did not report any of the symptoms suffered by the soldiers. <sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Whether this syndrome has been caused by the oil fires, by chemical attack, or other causes has not been determined, and the longterm environmental effects of the fires have yet to be fully understood.</p> <p>During <span class="mw-redirect">Operation Desert Storm</span>, Dr. <span class="mw-redirect">S. Fred Singer</span> debated Carl Sagan on the impact of the Kuwaiti petroleum fires on the ABC News program <i><span class="mw-redirect">Nightline</span></i>. Sagan said we know from the nuclear winter investigation that the smoke would loft into the upper <span class="mw-redirect">atmosphere</span> and that he believed the net effects would be very similar to the explosion of the Indonesian volcano Tambora in 1815, which resulted in the year 1816 being known as the <i>Year Without a Summer</i>, in massive agricultural failures, in very serious human suffering and, in some cases, starvation.</p> <p>He predicted the same for south Asia, and perhaps for a significant fraction of the northern hemisphere as well as a result. Singer, on the other hand, said that calculations showed that the smoke would go to an altitude of about 3,000 feet (910 m) and then be rained out after about three to five days and thus the lifetime of the smoke would be limited.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>In retrospect, it is now known that smoke from the Kuwait Oil Fires dominated the weather pattern throughout the Persian Gulf and surrounding region during 1991, and that lower atmospheric wind blew the smoke along the eastern half of the Arabian Peninsula, and cities such as Dhahran and Riyadh, and countries such as Bahrain experienced days with smoke filled skies and carbon fallout.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The companies responsible for extinguishing the fires initially were Red Adair Company (now sold off to <span class="new">Global Industries</span> of Louisiana), <span class="mw-redirect">Boots and Coots</span> (now Boots and Coots/IWC), Wild Well Control. Other companies including Safety Boss, Cudd Well/Pressure Control, Neal Adams Firefighters, and Kuwait Wild Well Killers were also contracted. All the wells were eventually fully extinguished and brought back under control.</p><h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Motives">Motives </span><span class="mw-headline" id="Environmental_impact">of Kuwaiti Oil Fires</span></h2> <p>By the eve of the Iraqi invasion, Kuwait had set production quotas to almost 1.9 million barrels per day (300,000 m<sup>3</sup>/d), which coincided with a sharp drop in the price of oil. By the summer of 1990, Kuwaiti overproduction had become a serious point of contention with Iraq.</p> <p>Some analysts have speculated that one of Saddam Hussein's main motivations in invading Kuwait was to punish the ruling al-Sabah family in Kuwait for not stopping its policy of overproduction, as well as his reasoning behind the destruction of said wells.<sup id="cite_ref-TED_5-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h2><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Environmental_impact">Environmental Impact of Kuwaiti Oil Fires<br /></span></h2>Immediately following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, predictions were made of an environmental disaster stemming from Iraqi threats to blow up captured Kuwaiti’ oil wells. Speculation ranging from a nuclear winter types scenario, to heavy acid rain and even short term immediate global warming were presented at the World Climate Conference in Geneva that November.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> <p>Nearly 700 oil wells were set ablaze by the retreating Iraqi army and the fires were not fully extinguished until November 6, 1991, eight months after the end of the war.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The fires consumed an estimated six million barrels of oil daily.</p> <p>Their immediate consequence was a dramatic decrease in air quality, causing respiratory problems for many Kuwaitis. The sabotage of the oil wells also impacted the desert environment, which has a limited natural cleansing ability. Unignited oil from the wells formed about 300 oil lakes that contaminated around 40 million tons of sand and earth. The mixture of desert sand with the unignited oil and soot formed layers of "tarcrete" which covered nearly five percent of the country.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Cleaning efforts led by the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research and the Arab Oil Co., who have tested a number of technologies including the use of petroleum-degrading bacteria, produced significant results. According to a 1992 study from Peter Hobbs and Lawrence Radke daily emissions of sulfur dioxide were 57% of that from electric utilities in the United States, emissions of carbon dioxide were 2% of global emissions and emissions of soot were 3400 metric tons per day.<sup id="cite_ref-ReferenceA_10-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Scenarios that predicted serious environmental impact on a global level did not happen.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> At the peak of the fires, the smoke absorbed 75 to 80% of the sun’s radiation. The particles were never observed to rise above 6 km and when combined with scavenging by clouds gave the smoke a short residency time in the atmosphere and localized its effects.<sup id="cite_ref-ReferenceA_10-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Vegetation in most of the contaminated areas adjoining the oil lakes began recovering by 1995, but the dry climate has also partially solidified some of the lakes. Over time the oil has continued to sink into the sand, with as yet unknown consequences for Kuwait's precious groundwater resources.<sup id="cite_ref-TED_5-1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwaiti_oil_fires#cite_note-TED-5"><span></span></a></sup></p></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-65264977761310740292010-11-28T04:52:00.000-08:002010-12-10T11:11:26.317-08:00Persian Gulf War Oil Spill<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TPJSAjeyIWI/AAAAAAAAARw/fhput69EaFg/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TPJSAjeyIWI/AAAAAAAAARw/fhput69EaFg/s320/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544584260724334946" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">The <b>Persian Gulf War oil spill</b> is regarded as the <span style="font-weight: bold;">third </span><span style="font-weight: bold;" class="mw-redirect">largest oil spill</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> in history</span>, resulting from the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. On 23 January, Iraq dumped 400 million gallons of <span class="mw-redirect">crude oil</span> into the Persian Gulf, causing the largest offshore oil spill in history at that time. It was reported as a deliberate natural resources attack to keep U.S. Marine forces from coming ashore (<i>Missouri</i> and <i>Wisconsin</i> had shelled Failaka Island during the war to reinforce the idea that there would be an amphibious assault attempt). About 30-40% of this came from Allied raids on Iraqi coastal targets.<br /><br /><h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Cause">The Cause of Persian Gulf War Oil Spill<br /></span></h2> <p>Iraqi forces opened valves at the Sea Island oil terminal and dumped oil from several tankers into the Persian Gulf.<sup id="cite_ref-timeline_0-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The apparent strategic goal was to foil a potential landing by US Marines. It also made commandeering oil reserves difficult for US forces.<sup id="cite_ref-timeline_0-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The immediate reports from Baghdad said that American air strikes had caused a discharge of oil from two tankers. Coalition forces determined the main source of oil to be the Sea Island terminal in Kuwait.<sup class="Template-Fact" title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from May 2010" style="white-space: nowrap;"></sup> American airstrikes on January 26 destroyed pipelines to prevent further spillage into the Persian Gulf.<sup class="Template-Fact" title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from May 2010" style="white-space: nowrap;"></sup> Several other sources of oil were found to be active: tankers and a damaged Kuwaiti oil refinery near Mina Al Ahmadi, tankers near Bubiyan Island, and Iraq's Mina Al Bakr terminal.<sup id="cite_ref-Baumann_1-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h2><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Environmental_impact">Environmental Impact of Persian Gulf War Oil Spill<br /></span></h2> <p>The <span style="font-weight: bold;">Persian gulf war oil spill</span>, which began on January 23, 1991, caused considerable damage to wildlife in the Persian Gulf especially in areas surrounding Kuwait and Iraq. Early estimates on the volume spilled ranged around 11,000,000 US barrels (1,300,000 m<sup>3</sup>). These numbers were however significantly adjusted downward by later, more detailed studies, both by government (4,000,000 US barrels (480,000 m<sup>3</sup>) to 6,000,000 US barrels (720,000 m<sup>3</sup>)) and private (2,000,000 US barrels (240,000 m<sup>3</sup>) to 4,000,000 US barrels (480,000 m<sup>3</sup>)) researchers.</p> <p>The slick reached a maximum size of 101 miles (160 km) by 42 miles (68 km) and was 5 inches (13 cm) thick in some areas. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the size of the spill, figures place it several times <sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> the size (by volume) of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.</p> <p>The <i><span class="mw-redirect">New York Times</span></i> reported that a 1993 study sponsored by UNESCO, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States found the spill did "little long-term damage": About half the oil evaporated, 1,000,000 US barrels (120,000 m<sup>3</sup>) were recovered and 2,000,000 US barrels (240,000 m<sup>3</sup>) to 3,000,000 US barrels (360,000 m<sup>3</sup>) washed ashore, mainly in Saudi Arabia.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>More recent scientific studies have tended to disagree with this 1993 assessment. Marshlands and mud tidal flats continued to contain large quantities of oil, over ten years later, and full recovery is likely to take decades.</p> <p>Dr. Jacqueline Michel, US geochemist (2010 interview – transcript of radio broadcast):<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <blockquote> <p>The long term effects were very significant. There was no shoreline cleanup, essentially, over the 800 kilometers that the oil – - in Saudi Arabia. And so when we went back in to do quantitative survey in 2002 and 2003, there was a million cubic meters of oil sediment remained then 12 years after the spill.... [T]he oil penetrated much more deeply into the intertidal sediment than normal because those sediments there have a lot of crab burrows, and the oil penetrated deep, sometimes 30, 40 centimeters, you know a couple of feet, into the mud of these tidal flats. There’s no way to get it out now. So it has had long term impact.</p> </blockquote> <p>Dr. Hans-Jörg Barth, German geographer (2001 research report):<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <blockquote> <p>The study demonstrated that, in contrary to previously published reports e.g. already 1993 by UNEP, several coastal areas even in 2001 still show significant oil impact and in some places no recovery at all. The salt marshes which occur at almost 50% of the coastline show the heaviest impact compared to the other ecosystem types after 10 years. Completely recovered are the rocky shores and mangroves. Sand beaches are on the best way to complete recovery. The main reason for the delayed recovery of the salt marshes is the absence of physical energy (wave action) and the mostly anaerobic milieu of the oiled substrates. The latter is mostly caused by cyanobacteria which forms impermeable mats. In other cases tar crusts are responsible. The availability of oxygen is the most important criteria for oil degradation. Where oil degrades it was obvious that benthic intertidal fauna such as crabs re-colonise the destroyed habitats long before the <span class="mw-redirect">halophytes</span>. The most important paths of regeneration are the tidal channels and the adjacent areas. Full recovery of the salt marshes will certainly need some more decades.</p> </blockquote> <p>The <i>Financial Times</i>, in reference to the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon <span style="font-weight: bold;">oil spill in the Gulf</span> of Mexico, cited the 1993 optimistic assessment of the Gulf War oil spill as evidence that "Initial warnings of catastrophic environmental damage from oil spills can turn out to be overdone".</p><br /></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-51232638552903961702010-11-28T04:44:00.000-08:002010-11-28T04:52:09.424-08:00Draining of the Qurna Marshes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TPJQPnz90lI/AAAAAAAAARo/3Lz0KvoY0rc/s1600/4.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TPJQPnz90lI/AAAAAAAAARo/3Lz0KvoY0rc/s320/4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544582320561705554" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><p>The <span style="font-weight: bold;">draining of the Qurna Marshes</span> was an irrigation project in Iraq during and immediately after the Gulf War, to drain a large area of <span class="mw-redirect">marshes</span> in the <span class="mw-redirect">Tigris-Euphrates river system</span>. Formerly covering an area of around 3000 square kilometres, the large complex of <span class="mw-redirect">wetlands</span> were almost completely emptied of water, and the local Shi'ite population relocated, following the Gulf War and 1991 uprisings. By 2000, United Nations Environment Programme estimated that 90% of the marshlands had disappeared, causing desertification of over 7,500 square miles (19,000 km<sup>2</sup>).</p> Many international organizations such as the <span class="mw-redirect">U.N. Human Rights Commission</span>, the <span class="mw-redirect">Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq</span>, the <span class="mw-redirect">International Wildfowl and Wetlands Research Bureau</span>, and <span class="new">Middle East Watch</span> have described the project as a political attempt to force the Marsh Arabs out of the area through water diversion tactics.<br /><br /><p>The <span style="font-weight: bold;">draining of the Qurna Marshes </span>also called<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>The <b>Draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes</b> occurred in Iraq and to a smaller degree in Iran between the 1950s and 1990s to clear large areas of the <span class="mw-redirect">marshes</span> in the <span class="mw-redirect">Tigris-Euphrates river system</span>. Formerly covering an area of around 20,000 km<sup>2</sup> (7,700 sq mi), the large complex of <span class="mw-redirect">wetlands</span> was 90% drained prior to the <span class="mw-redirect">2003 Invasion of Iraq</span>. The marshes are typically divided into three main sub-marshes, the Hawizeh, Central, and Hammar Marshes and all three were drained at different times for different reasons. Initial draining of the Central Marshes was intended to reclaim land for agriculture but later all three marshes would become a tool of war and revenge.</p> Many international organizations such as the <span class="mw-redirect">U.N. Human Rights Commission</span>, the <span class="mw-redirect">Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq</span> (SCIRI), the <span class="mw-redirect">International Wildfowl and Wetlands Research Bureau</span>, and <span class="new">Middle East Watch</span> have described the draining as a political attempt to force the <span class="mw-redirect">Ma'dan people</span> out of the area through water diversion tactics.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draining_of_the_Qurna_Marshes#cite_note-0"><span></span></a><br /><br /><h2><span class="mw-headline" id="History">History</span></h2> <p>The marshes had for some time been considered a refuge for elements persecuted by the government of Saddam Hussein, as in past centuries they had been a refuge for escaped slaves and serfs, such as during the Zanj Rebellion. The area was formerly populated by the Marsh Arabs or Ma'dan, who grazed <span class="mw-redirect">buffalo</span> on the natural vegetation and carried out cultivation of rice. By the mid 1980s, a low-level insurgency against <span class="mw-redirect">Ba'athist</span> drainage and resettlement projects had developed in the area, led by Sheik Abdul Kerim Mahud al-Muhammadawi of the Al bu Muhammad under the <i><span class="mw-redirect">nom de guerre</span></i> Abu Hatim.<sup id="cite_ref-colep12_1-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The British were the first to drain Iraq's marshes which had no apparent economic value and bred mosquitoes. Prepared in 1951, The <b>Haigh Report</b> outlined a series of sluices, embankments and canals on the lower ends of the Tigris and Euphrates that would drain water for agriculture. In 1952, the Third River (a large canal) commenced that would drain part of the Central Marshes but it was not complete until 1992 as well as the Nasiriyah Drainage Pump Station which was not completed until 2009.<sup id="cite_ref-Masour_2-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> During the 1970s, the expansion of irrigation projects had begun to disrupt the flow of water to the marshes. By the early 1980s, it was evident that irrigation projects were already affecting water levels in the marshes.<sup id="cite_ref-Spencer_4-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Part of the Hammar Marsh was also drained in 1985 to clear area for <span class="mw-redirect">oil exploration</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h2><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Gulf_War_Draining">Persian Gulf War Draining</span></h2> <p>However, after the <span class="mw-redirect">First Gulf War</span> (1991), the Iraqi government aggressively revived a program to divert the flow of the <span class="mw-redirect">Tigris River</span> and the <span class="mw-redirect">Euphrates River</span> away from the marshes in retribution for a failed Shia uprising. This was done primarily to eliminate the food source(s) of the Marsh Arabs and to prevent any remaining militiamen from taking refuge in the marshes, the Badr Brigades and other militias having used them as cover.</p> <p>The flow southwards from the distributary streams of the Tigris was blocked by large embankments and discharged into the Al-Amarah or <span class="mw-redirect">Glory Canal</span>, resulting in the loss of two-thirds of the Central Marshes by as early as 1993.<sup id="cite_ref-birdlife_6-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> A further canal, the <span class="new">Prosperity Canal</span>, was constructed to prevent any overflow into the marsh from the main channel of the Tigris as it ran southwards from <span class="new">Qalat Saleh</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-edenagain_7-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> By the late 1990s, the Central Marsh had become completely desiccated, suffering the most severe damage of the three main areas of wetland. By 2000, United Nations Environment Programme estimated that 90% of the marshlands had disappeared.</p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Environmental_effects">Environmental effects</span></h3> <p>The Central Marshes stretched between Nasiriyah, Al-'Uzair (Ezra's Tomb) and Al-Qurnah and were mainly fed by the Tigris and its distributaries. They were characterised by tall <i>qasab</i> reeds but included a number of freshwater lakes, of which the largest were the Haur az-Zikri and Umm al-Binni (literally "mother of <i>binni</i>", the latter being a species of barbel.)<sup id="cite_ref-edenagain_7-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The marshes supported breeding populations of the Basra Reed-warbler and <span class="mw-redirect">Marbled Teal</span>, along with several other species of non-breeding birds.<sup id="cite_ref-birdlife_6-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> A bird subspecies unique to the marshes, the African Darter <i><span class="new">Anhinga rufa chantrei</span></i>, may have already become extinct by the 1990s.<sup id="cite_ref-scott_8-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> There were also populations of several mammal species including the unique <i><span class="new">Erythronesokia bunnii</span></i> (Bunn's Short-Tailed <span class="mw-redirect">Bandicoot Rat</span>) and the Smooth-coated Otter subspecies <i><span class="new">Lutra perspicillata maxwelli</span></i>, which had only been described from specimens obtained in the Central Marshes.<sup id="cite_ref-scott_8-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>A study by the Wetland Ecosystem Research Group at Royal Holloway, University of London concluded that thousands of fish and waterfowl died as the waters receded, and that the central Qurnah marshes 'essentially no longer exist as an ecosystem'.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>According to a 2001 United Nations Environmental Programme report by <span class="new">Hassan Paltrow</span>, the projects resulted in:<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <ul><li>The loss of a migration area for birds migrating from Eurasia to Africa, and consequent decrease in bird populations in areas such as Ukraine and the Caucasus</li><li>Probable extinction of several plant and animal species endemic to the Marshes</li><li>Higher soil salinity in the Marshes and adjacent areas, resulting in loss of dairy production, fishing, and rice cultivation.</li><li>Desertification of over 7500 square miles.</li><li>Saltwater intrusion and increased flow of pollutants into the Shatt-al-Arab waterway, causing disruption of fisheries in the Persian Gulf</li></ul> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Demographic_effects">Demographic effects</span></h3> <p>The majority of the Maʻdān were displaced either to areas adjacent to the drained marshes, abandoning their traditional lifestyle in favour of conventional agriculture, to towns and camps in other areas of Iraq or to Iranian refugee camps. Only 1,600 of them were estimated to still be living on traditional <i>dibins</i> by 2003.<sup id="cite_ref-Colep13_11-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The western Hammar Marshes and the Qurnah or Central Marshes had become completely desiccated, while the eastern <span class="mw-redirect">Hawizeh Marshes</span> had dramatically shrunk.</p> <p>The Marsh Arabs, who numbered about half a million in the 1950s, have dwindled to as few as 20,000 in Iraq, according to the United Nations. An estimated 80,000 to 120,000 have fled to refugee camps in Iran.<sup id="cite_ref-Marsh_12-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The plan, which was accompanied by a series of propaganda articles by the Iraqi regime directed against the Ma'dan,<sup id="cite_ref-fisk_13-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> systematically converted the <span class="mw-redirect">wetlands</span> into a desert, forcing the residents out of their settlements in the region. Villages in the marshes were attacked and burnt down and there were reports of the water being deliberately poisoned.<sup id="cite_ref-unep2_14-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Political_Response">Political Response</span></h3> <p>The <span class="new">AMAR International Charitable Foundation</span> described the event as "an environmental and humanitarian catastrophe of monumental proportions with regional and global implications."<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Along with the <span class="mw-redirect">Gulf war sanctions</span>, there was no specific legal recourse, or prosecution of those involved with the project. Article 2.c of the <b>Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide</b> forbids “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.” The <span class="mw-redirect">Saint Petersburg Declaration</span> says that “the only legitimate object which States should endeavour to accomplish during war is to weaken the military forces of the enemy.” Since water flowed unfiltered into the Gulf, The <b>Kuwait Regional Convention for Co-operation on the Protection of the Marine Environment from Pollution</b> could be used to compensate Iraq’s neighbours for the increase of the marine pollution, but it does not protect the Maadan for the loss of their marshlands.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h2><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Reflooding">Reflooding</span></h2> <p>Following the <span class="mw-redirect">2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq</span>, embankments and drainage works were broken open, and the marshes began to reflood. The Central Marshes showed little recovery through 2003, but by early 2004 a patchwork of lakes had appeared in northern areas; there was flooding in southern areas which had previously been dry since the early 1990s.<sup id="cite_ref-imrpp6_17-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> There has been some corresponding recolonization by the natural marsh vegetation since that time, and return of some species of fish and birds, although recovery of the Central Marshes has been much slower compared to the Huwaizah and Hammar Marshes; the most severely damaged sections of the wetlands have yet to show any signs of regeneration.<sup id="cite_ref-unhcr_18-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> <i>Erythronesokia bunnii</i>, <i>Lutra perspicillata maxwelli</i> and <i>Anhinga rufa chantrei</i> are all thought to have become extinct.</p><br /></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-75400184802970539182010-11-25T09:40:00.000-08:002010-11-25T09:41:51.631-08:00Persian Gulf War Timeline<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Timeline of the Gulf War</b> Begins in May 1990 and ends in March 1991.<br /><br /><h2><span class="mw-headline" id="1990">Persian Gulf War Timeline1990</span></h2> <ul><li>May 28-30: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein says that oil overproduction by Kuwait and United Arab Emirates is "economic warfare" against Iraq.</li><li>July 15: Iraq accuses Kuwait of stealing oil from Rumaylah oil field near the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border and warns of military action.</li><li>July 22: Iraq begins deploying troops to the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border and building a massive military buildup.</li><li>August 2: About 100,000 Iraqi troops invade Kuwait. Kuwait is in Iraqi control by the end of the day.</li><li>August 6: The <span class="mw-redirect">U.N. Security Council</span> imposes a trade embargo on Iraq in a 13-0 vote, with Cuba and Yemen abstaining.</li><li>August 7: The United States launches Operation Desert Shield. First U.S. troops arrive in Saudi Arabia.</li><li>August 8: Saddam Hussein proclaims the annexation of Kuwait.</li><li>August 12: Naval blockade of Iraq begins.</li><li>August 28: Iraq declares Kuwait as its 19th province and renames Kuwait City as al-Kadhima.</li><li>September 14: Great Britain and France announce the deployment of troops to Saudi Arabia.</li><li>November 29: The United Nations sets a deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait before January 15, 1991, or face military action.</li></ul> <h2><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="1991">Persian Gulf War Timeline 1991</span></h2> <ul><li>January 9: Talks in Geneva, Switzerland, between U.S. Secretary of State James Baker and Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz end with no progress.</li><li>January 16: First US government statement of <span class="mw-redirect">Operation Desert Storm</span> made.</li><li>January 17: The air war commences at 2:38 a.m. (local time) or January 16 at 6:38 p.m. EST due to an 8 hour time difference, with an Apache helicopter attack. US warplanes attack Baghdad, Kuwait and other military targets in Iraq.</li><li>January 18: Iraq strikes with Soviet-made <span class="mw-redirect">SCUD</span> missiles on Israel. The U.S. deploys <span class="mw-redirect">Patriot missiles</span> to Israel and Saudi Arabia.</li><li>January 22: Iraqi troops begin blowing up Kuwaiti oil wells.</li><li>January 25: Iraqi troops dump millions of gallons of crude oil into the Persian Gulf.</li><li>January 29: Iraqi forces invade the town of Khafji in Saudi Arabia. Iraqi forces are soon engaged by Saudi Arabian and Qatari troops with help from U.S. Marines.</li><li>January 31: Iraqi forces capture Melissa Rathbun-Nealy, the first female <span class="mw-redirect">Prisoner of War</span> since World War II.</li><li>February 1: Iraqi forces are driven out of Saudi Arabia. Allied Forces win the Battle of Khafji.</li><li>February 13: A bombing raid by U.S. forces kills 400 Iraqi civilians in an air raid shelter.</li><li>February 22: U.S. President George H. W. Bush issues a 24-hour ultimatum: Iraq must withdraw from Kuwait to avoid start of a ground war.</li><li>February 24: Allied Forces invade Iraq and Kuwait at around 4 a.m. Baghdad time. The <span class="mw-redirect">British Special Air Service</span> is the first to enter Iraqi territory.</li><li>February 25: An Iraqi SCUD missile hits U.S. barracks near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 28 U.S. troops.</li><li>February 26: Saddam Hussein orders the Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait. About 10,000 retreating Iraqi troops are killed when Allied aircraft bomb them. This is called the Highway of Death.</li><li>February 27: U.S. Marines and Saudi Arabian troops enter Kuwait City. The U.S. Army engages the Iraqi Republican Guard in several tank battles in Iraq, also known as the Battle of Medina Ridge</li><li>February 28: The Gulf War ends.</li><li>March 1: The cease-fire plan is negotiated in Safwan, Iraq.</li><li>March 17: First U.S. troops arrive home.</li></ul><br /></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-23162423652387468562010-11-22T09:43:00.000-08:002010-11-22T09:51:32.965-08:00Highway of Death<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TOqswPrnlrI/AAAAAAAAAQg/LIJBx4krZwc/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TOqswPrnlrI/AAAAAAAAAQg/LIJBx4krZwc/s320/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542432236275996338" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><p>The <b>Highway of Death</b> refers to a six-lane highway between Kuwait and Iraq, officially known as <b>Highway 80</b>. It runs from Kuwait City to the border towns of Abdali and Safwan and then on to Basra.</p> <p>During the United Nations coalition offensive in the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Persian Gulf War</span>, retreating Iraqi military personnel were attacked on Highway 80 by <span class="mw-redirect">American</span> aircraft and ground forces on the night of February 26–27, 1991, resulting in the destruction of hundreds of vehicles and many of their occupants. The scenes of devastation on the road are some of the most recognisable images of the war, and was publicly cited as a factor in President George H. W. Bush's decision to declare a cessation of hostilities on the next day.<sup id="cite_ref-hersh_0-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Many Iraqi forces however succeeded in escaping across the Euphrates river and the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency estimated that upwards of 70,000 to 80,000 troops from defeated divisions in Kuwait may have fled into the city of Basra.<sup id="cite_ref-hammurabi_1-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The road was repaired during the late 1990s, and was used in the initial stages of the 2003 invasion of Iraq by U.S. and British forces. Previously it had been also used during the 1990 Invasion of Kuwait by the Iraqi armored divisions.</p><h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Highway.28s.29_of_Death">Highway of Death</span></h2> <p>U.S. attacks against the Iraqi columns were actually conducted on two different roads: about 1,400-2,000 vehicles were hit or abandoned on the main Highway 80 north of Al Jahra (the "actual" Highway of Death) and another 400-700 on the much-less known road to Basra, the major military stronghold in southern Iraq.</p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Highway_80">Highway 80</span></h3>On Highway 80, the U.S. Marine aircraft blocked the road with anti-tank mines, and then bombed the rear of a massive vehicle column of mostly <span class="mw-redirect">Iraqi Regular Army</span> forces, effectively boxing-in the Iraqi forces in an enormous traffic jam and leaving sitting targets for many further airstrikes. Over the next 10 hours, scores of Marine, Navy and Air Force pilots (many from USS <i>Ranger</i> (CV/CVA-61) aircraft carrier) attacked the convoy using a variety of ordnance. Some survivors of the air attacks were later engaged by arriving coalition ground units, while the vehicles that managed to evade the traffic jam and continued to drive on the road north were often targeted individually. One portion of the road at the bottle-neck near the Mutla Ridge police station has been reduced to a long uninterrupted line of more than 300 stuck and abandoned vehicles; this point is sometimes called the <b>Mile of Death</b>. The wreckage found on the highway consisted of a relatively few military vehicles (including at least 28 tanks and other armored vehicles) and many more commandeered civilian vehicles such as cars and buses; many of these vehicles were filled with stolen Kuwaiti property. <p>The death toll from the attack is unknown and still remains a controversial issue. Some independent estimates go as high as 10,000 or even "tens of thousands" of casualties, but this is highly unlikely. According to a 2003 study by the Project on Defense Alternatives Research, there were probably about 7,500-10,000 people who rode in the cut-off main caravan to begin with, but once the bombing started, most of them are believed to have simply left their vehicles in panic and escaped through the desert or into the nearby swamps (where 450-500 of them were taken prisoner). The often repeated low estimate of the numbers killed in the attack is 200-300 (as reported by Michael Kelly among others), but the actual figure was probably higher, and a minimum toll of at least 500-600 dead seems to be more plausible.<sup id="cite_ref-wow_2-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Highway_8">Highway 8</span></h3> <p>On and near <b>Highway 8</b> to the east, Iraqi forces trying to either redeploy to stand and fight or simply escape, many of them belonging to the elite <span class="mw-redirect">Iraqi Republican Guard</span>'s 1st Armored Division "Hammurabi",<sup id="cite_ref-hammurabi_1-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> have been engaged over a much larger area in smaller groups by the U.S. ground forces consisting of nine artillery battalions and a battalion of <span class="mw-redirect">AH-64 Apache</span> helicopter gunships operating under the command of General Barry McCaffrey. Hundreds of Iraqi vehicles, predominantly military in type, were then systematically destroyed in smaller clusters of 10-15 spread along a 50-mile stretch of the highway and at scattered points across the desert.</p> <p>This engagement, which wasn't even known to media and the public at all until almost two weeks later, still remains relatively obscure even as most of the graphic images of scorched corpses, commonly attributed to the Highway of Death attacks and often considered among the iconic images of the war, were actually taken on Highway 8 and not on Highway 80. The Project on Defense Alternatives Research estimated the number of these killed there to be in range of 300-400 or more, bringing the likely total number of fatalities in both incidents to at least 800-1,000. A large column of remnants of the Hammurabi Division attempting to withdraw to safety in Baghdad were also engaged and obliterated few days later (March 2) deep inside the Iraqi territory by Gen. McCaffrey's forces in a controversial post-war "turkey shoot"-style incident known as Battle of Rumaila.</p><p>Highway of Death Video Footage</p><p><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hhmXleZXAr0?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hhmXleZXAr0?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></embed></object><br /></p></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-55080013070870218312010-11-19T03:20:00.000-08:002011-05-17T00:46:47.819-07:00Persian Gulf War Illness Syndrome<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TOZhJ66z0yI/AAAAAAAAAP4/bcmbAwMkiXQ/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TOZhJ66z0yI/AAAAAAAAAP4/bcmbAwMkiXQ/s320/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541223214588613410" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Persian Gulf War Syndrome</b> (GWS) or <b>Gulf War illness</b> (GWI) affects <span class="mw-redirect">veterans</span> and civilians who were near conflicts during or downwind of a chemical weapons depot demolition, after the 1991 Gulf War. A wide range of acute and chronic symptoms have included <span class="mw-redirect">fatigue</span>, loss of muscle control, headaches, dizziness and loss of balance, memory problems, muscle and joint pain, <span class="mw-redirect">indigestion</span>, skin problems, immune system problems, and <span class="mw-redirect">birth defects</span>. Approximately 250,000 of the 697,000 veterans who served in the 1991 Gulf War are afflicted with enduring chronic multi-symptom illness, a condition with serious consequences.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Exposure to toxic chemicals is currently believed to be the cause of the illness. Several specific causes have been investigated, including <span class="mw-redirect">pyridostigmine bromide</span> (PB) nerve gas antidote (NAPP) pills, organophosphate military strength pesticides, chemical weapons, and depleted uranium. Causes which have been ruled out include <span class="mw-redirect">post traumatic stress disorder</span>, anthrax <span class="mw-redirect">vaccinations</span>, and smoke from oil well fires, though these exposures may have led to various illnesses and symptoms in a limited number of Gulf War veterans. PB or NAPP antidote pills given to protect troops from <span class="mw-redirect">nerve agents</span> and military strength insecticides used during deployment have currently been most closely linked to Gulf War veterans' chronic multi-symptom illness. Exposure to the destruction of the Khamisiyah weapons depot, where large quantities of Iraqi chemical munitions containing sarin and cyclosarin nerve agents was stored, is negatively correlated with motor speed. Epidemiological evidence is consistent with increased risk of birth defects in the offspring of persons exposed to depleted uranium.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> Methods of preventing or treating Gulf War syndrome vary. While the treatment of sarin exposure has been studied, other acetylcholinesterase inhibitors such as pyridostigmine bromide and organophosphate insect repellents may or may not involve similar management. Uranium can be decontaminated from steel surfaces and aquifers.<br /><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Classification">Classification of Persian Gulf War Syndrome (Illness)<br /></span></h2><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Medical ailments associated with <b>Persian Gulf War Syndrome</b> has been recognized by both the US Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Veterans Administration. Since so little concrete information was known about this condition the Veterans administrations originally classified individuals with related ailments believed to be connected to their service in the Persian Gulf a special non-ICD-9 code DX111, as well as ICD-9 code V65.5.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><h2 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Signs_and_symptoms">Persian Gulf War Syndrome Signs and symptoms</span></h2><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">According to an April 2010 U.S Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) sponsored study conducted by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), part of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, 250,000 of the 696,842 U.S. servicemen and women in the 1991 Gulf War continue to suffer from chronic multi-symptom illness, popularly known as "Gulf War Illness" or "Gulf War Syndrome." The IOM found that the chronic multi-symptom illness continues to affect these veterans nearly 20 years after the war, and, "the excess of unexplained medical symptoms reported by deployed [1991] Gulf war veterans cannot be reliably ascribed to any known psychiatric disorder."</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">According to the IOM, "It is clear that a significant portion of the soldiers deployed to the Gulf War have experienced troubling constellations of symptoms that are difficult to categorize," said committee chair Stephen L. Hauser, professor and chair, department of neurology, University of California, San Francisco. "Unfortunately, symptoms that cannot be easily quantified are sometimes incorrectly dismissed as insignificant and receive inadequate attention and funding by the medical and scientific establishment. Veterans who continue to suffer from these symptoms deserve the very best that modern science and medicine can offer to speed the development of effective treatments, cures, and—we hope—prevention. Our report suggests a path forward to accomplish this goal, and we believe that through a concerted national effort and rigorous scientific input, answers can be found."</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">With the issuance of this report, the IOM pointed the way forward. There is a pressing need to answer lingering questions, such as why some veterans suffer a range of symptoms whereas others experience specific, isolated health problems or no ill health, and why some veterans who were not on the ground during the conflict or who arrived after combat ended have multisymptom illness, while others who served on the ground during the height of the battle have experienced few or no symptoms. The dearth of data on veterans' pre-deployment and immediate post-deployment health status and lack of measurement and monitoring of the various substances to which veterans may have been exposed make it difficult—and in many cases impossible—to reconstruct what happened to service members during their deployments nearly 20 years after the fact, the committee noted.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">The report calls for a substantial commitment to improve identification and treatment of multisymptom illness in Gulf War veterans. The path forward should include continued monitoring of Gulf War veterans and development of better medical care for those with persistent, unexplained symptoms. Researchers should undertake studies comparing genetic variations and other differences in veterans experiencing multisymptom illness and asymptomatic veterans. It is likely that multisymptom illness results from the interactions between environmental exposures and genes, and genetics may predispose some individuals to illness, the committee noted. There are sufficient numbers of veterans to conduct meaningful comparisons given that nearly 700,000 U.S. personnel were deployed to the region and more than 250,000 of them suffer from persistant, unexplained symptoms. A consortium involving the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense, and National Institutes of Health could coordinate this effort and contribute the necessary resources.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">The IOM also found that service in the 1991 Gulf War is a cause of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in some veterans and is also associated with gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome; substance abuse, particularly alcoholism; and psychiatric problems such as anxiety disorder. And, IOM's report shows there is some evidence that service during the 1991 Gulf War is linked to fibromyalgia and chronic widespread pain, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease), sexual difficulties, and death due to causes such as car accidents in the early years after deployment, but the data are limited, said the committee that wrote the report.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Older research shows that the U.S. and the UK, with the highest rates of excess illness, are distinguished from the other nations by higher rates of pesticide use, use of anthrax vaccine, and somewhat higher rates of exposures to oil fire smoke and reported chemical alerts. France, with possibly the lowest illness rates, had lower rates of pesticide use, and no use of anthrax vaccine. French troops also served to the North and West of all other combat troops, away and upwind of major combat engagements.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">A 2001 study of 15,000 U.S. combat veterans of the 1991 Gulf War and 15,000 control veterans found that the Gulf War veterans were 1.8 (fathers) to 2.8 (mothers) times more likely to have children with birth defects. After examination of children's medical records two years later, the birth defect rate increased by more than 20%:</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> <blockquote> <p>"Dr. Kang found that male Gulf War veterans reported having infants with likely birth defects at twice the rate of non-veterans. Furthermore, female Gulf War veterans were almost three times more likely to report children with birth defects than their non-Gulf counterparts. The numbers changed somewhat with medical records verification. However, Dr. Kang and his colleagues concluded that the risk of birth defects in children of deployed male veterans still was about 2.2 times that of non-deployed veterans."</p> </blockquote> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">In a study of U.K. troops, "Overall, the risk of any malformation among pregnancies reported by men was 50% higher in Gulf War Veterans (GWV) compared with Non-GWVs."</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><table id="sortable_table_id_0" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 97%; text-align: left; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;"> <caption>Excess prevalence of general symptoms<b>*</b></caption> <tbody><tr> <th width="200px">Symptom</th> <th width="50px">U.S.</th> <th width="50px">UK</th> <th width="75px">Australia</th> <th width="75px">Denmark</th> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Fatigue</td> <td>23%</td> <td>23%</td> <td>10%</td> <td>16%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Headache</td> <td>17%</td> <td>18%</td> <td>7%</td> <td>13%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Memory problems</td> <td>32%</td> <td>28%</td> <td>12%</td> <td>23%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Muscle/joint pain</td> <td>18%</td> <td>17%</td> <td>5%</td> <td>2% (&lt;2%)</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Diarrhea</td> <td>16%</td> <td><br /></td> <td>9%</td> <td>13%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Dyspepsia/indigestion</td> <td>12%</td> <td><br /></td> <td>5%</td> <td>9%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Neurological problems</td> <td>16%</td> <td><br /></td> <td>8%</td> <td>12%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Terminal tumors</td> <td>33%</td> <td><br /></td> <td>9%</td> <td>11%</td> </tr> </tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;" class="thumb tright"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width: 252px;"><br /></div> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><table id="sortable_table_id_1" class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 97%; text-align: left; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;"> <caption>Excess prevalence of recognized medical conditions</caption> <tbody><tr> <th width="200px">Condition</th> <th width="50px">U.S.</th> <th width="50px">UK</th> <th width="75px">Canada</th> <th width="75px">Australia</th> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Skin conditions</td> <td><span style="display: none;" class="sortkey">20 !</span><span class="sorttext">20-21%</span></td> <td>21%</td> <td><span style="display: none;" class="sortkey">04 !</span><span class="sorttext">4-7%</span></td> <td>4%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Arthritis/joint problems</td> <td><span style="display: none;" class="sortkey">06 !</span><span class="sorttext">6-11%</span></td> <td>10%</td> <td><span style="display: none;" class="sortkey">0 !</span><span class="sorttext">(-1)-3%</span></td> <td>2%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Gastro-intestinal (GI) problems</td> <td><span style="display: none;" class="sortkey">15 !</span><span class="sorttext">15%</span></td> <td><br /></td> <td><span style="display: none;" class="sortkey">05 !</span><span class="sorttext">5-7%</span></td> <td>1%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Respiratory problem</td> <td><span style="display: none;" class="sortkey">04 !</span><span class="sorttext">4-7%</span></td> <td>2%</td> <td><span style="display: none;" class="sortkey">02 !</span><span class="sorttext">2-5%</span></td> <td>1%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Chronic fatigue syndrome</td> <td><span style="display: none;" class="sortkey">01 !</span><span class="sorttext">1-4%</span></td> <td>3%</td> <td><br /></td> <td>0%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Post-traumatic stress disorder</td> <td><span style="display: none;" class="sortkey">02 !</span><span class="sorttext">2-6%</span></td> <td>9%</td> <td><span style="display: none;" class="sortkey">06 !</span><span class="sorttext">6%</span></td> <td>3%</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="left">Chronic multi-symptom illness</td> <td><span style="display: none;" class="sortkey">13 !</span><span class="sorttext">13-25%</span></td> <td>26%</td> <td><br /></td> <td><br /></td> </tr> </tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Although Gulf War illness is the most prominent condition affecting Gulf War veterans, it is just one health issue to be addressed in the larger context of the health of Gulf War veterans. Other Gulf War-related health issues of importance include rates of diagnosable medical conditions and post-war mortality among Gulf War veterans, and questions related to the risk of birth defects and other health problems in veterans’ family members.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">The three studies most representative of Gulf War era veterans in the U.S. and U.K. have all indicated significant excess rates of birth defects in children of Gulf War veterans. News articles have reported that rates of cancer and birth defects in Iraq increased dramatically during the 1990s, specifically in regions where the greatest quantity of depleted uranium was used in the Gulf War. Conference reports describing an increased incidence of congenital anomalies in Basrah and increased numbers of cancer cases, both in Iraqi military personnel who served in the war and in four Iraqi hospitals, lend some support to these contentions.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Results from two studies, using different methods in different groups of symptomatic veterans, indicate that Gulf War illness is associated with a low-level, persistent immune activation, reflected in elevated levels of the cytokines IL-2, IFN-γ and IL-10. In addition, several studies have reported that NK cell numbers and/or cytotoxic activity are significantly reduced in veterans with Gulf War illness.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><h2 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Causes">Causes of Persian Gulf War Syndrome (Illness)<br /></span></h2><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">The United States Congress mandated the <span class="mw-redirect">National Academies of Science</span> Institute of Medicine to provide nine reports on Gulf War Syndrome since 1998. Aside from the many physical and psychological issues involving any war zone deployment, Gulf War veterans were exposed to a unique mix of hazards not previously experienced during wartime. These included <span class="mw-redirect">pyridostigmine bromide</span> pills given to protect troops from the effects of nerve agents, depleted uranium munitions, and <span class="mw-redirect">anthrax</span> and <span class="mw-redirect">botulinum</span> vaccines. The oil and smoke that spewed for months from hundreds of burning oil wells presented another exposure hazard not previously encountered in a warzone. Military personnel also had to cope with swarms of insects, requiring the widespread use of pesticides.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">United States Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi's panel found that pre-2005 studies suggested the veterans' illnesses are neurological and apparently are linked to exposure to <span class="mw-redirect">neurotoxins</span>, such as the nerve gas sarin, the anti-nerve gas drug <span class="mw-redirect">pyridostigmine bromide</span>, and pesticides that affect the nervous system. The review committee concluded that "Research studies conducted since the war have consistently indicated that psychiatric illness, combat experience or other deployment-related stressors do not explain Gulf War veterans illnesses in the large majority of ill veterans," the review committee said.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Pyridostigmine_bromide_nerve_gas_antidote">Pyridostigmine bromide nerve gas antidote</span></h3><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">The US military issued <span class="mw-redirect">pyridostigmine bromide</span>(PB) pills to protect against exposure to nerve gas agents such as sarin and soman. PB was used to pretreat nerve agent poisoning, it is not a vaccine however. Taken before exposure to nerve agents, PB was thought to increase the efficacy of nerve agent antidotes. PB had been used since 1955 for patients suffering from myasthenia gravis with doses up to 1,500 mg a day, far in excess of the 90 mg given to soldiers, and was considered safe by the FDA at either level for indefinite use and its use to pretreat nerve agent exposure has recently been approved.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">About half of U.S. Gulf War veterans report using PB during deployment, with greatest use among Army personnel. Concerns have been raised about the possibility of increased health problems from PB when it is combined with other risk factors.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Given both the large body of epidemiological data on myasthenia gravis patients and follow up studies done on veterans it was concluded that while it was unlikely that health effects reported today by Gulf War veterans are the result of exposure solely to PB, use of PB was causally associated with illness.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Organophosphate_pesticides">Organophosphate pesticides</span></h3><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">The use of organophosphate <span class="mw-redirect">pesticides</span> and insect repellants during the first Gulf War is credited with keeping rates of pest-borne diseases low. Pesticide use is one of only two exposures consistently identified by Gulf War epidemiologic studies to be significantly associated with Gulf War illness. Multisymptom illness profiles similar to Gulf War illness have been associated with low-level pesticide exposures in other human populations. In addition, Gulf War studies have identified dose-response effects, indicating that greater pesticide use is more strongly associated with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Gulf War illness</span> than more limited use. Pesticide use during the Gulf War has also been associated with neurocognitive deficits and <span class="mw-redirect">neuroendocrine</span> alterations in Gulf War veterans in clinical studies conducted following the end of the war. The 2008 report concluded that “all available sources of evidence combine to support a consistent and compelling case that pesticide use during the Gulf War is causally associated with Gulf War illness.”</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Sarin_nerve_agent">Sarin nerve agent</span></h3><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Many of the symptoms of Gulf War syndrome are similar to the symptoms of organophosphate, <span class="mw-redirect">mustard gas</span>, and <span class="mw-redirect">nerve gas</span> poisoning. Gulf War veterans were exposed to a number of sources of these compounds, including <span class="mw-redirect">nerve gas</span> and <span class="mw-redirect">pesticides</span>.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Chemical detection units from the Czech Republic, France, and Britain confirmed chemical agents. French detection units detected chemical agents. Both Czech and French forces reported detections immediately to U.S. forces. U.S. forces detected, confirmed, and reported chemical agents; and U.S. soldiers were awarded medals for detecting chemical agents. The Riegle Report said that chemical alarms went off 18,000 times during the Gulf War. After the air war started on January 16, 1991, coalition forces were chronically exposed to low but nonlethal levels of chemical and biological agents released primarily by direct Iraqi attack via missiles, rockets, artillery, or aircraft <span class="mw-redirect">munitions</span> and by fallout from allied bombings of Iraqi chemical warfare munitions facilities.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">In 1997, the US Government released an unclassified report that stated, <i>"The US Intelligence Community (IC) has assessed that Iraq did not use chemical weapons during the Gulf War. However, based on a comprehensive review of intelligence information and relevant information made available by the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), we conclude that chemical warfare (CW) agent was released as a result of US postwar demolition of rockets with chemical warheads at several sites including Khamisiyah"</i>. Over 125,000 U.S. troops and 9,000 UK troops were exposed to nerve gas and <span class="mw-redirect">mustard gas</span> when the Iraqi depot in Khamisiyah was destroyed.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Recent studies have confirmed earlier suspicions that exposure to sarin, in combination with other contaminants such as pesticides and PB were related to reports of veteran illness. Estimates range from 100,000 to 300,000 individuals exposed to nerve agents.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Depleted_uranium">Depleted uranium</span></h3><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Depleted uranium (DU) was widely used in tank kinetic energy penetrator and autocannon rounds for the first time in the Gulf War. DU is a dense, weakly radioactive metal. Munitions made from it often burn when they impact a hard target, producing toxic combustion products. Roughly 320 tons of DU were used during the February, 1991 conflict. After military personnel began reporting unexplained health problems in the aftermath of the Gulf War, questions were raised about the health effect of exposure to depleted uranium.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">The use of DU in <span class="mw-redirect">munitions</span> is controversial because of questions about potential long-term health effects. Normal functioning of the kidney, brain, liver, heart, and numerous other systems can be affected by uranium exposure, because in addition to being weakly radioactive, uranium is a toxic metal. Because uranium is a heavy metal and chemical toxicant with nephrotoxic (kidney-damaging), <span class="mw-redirect">teratogenic</span> (birth defect-causing), immunotoxic, and potentially carcinogenic properties, uranium exposure is associated with a variety of illnesses. The chemical toxicological hazard posed by uranium dwarfs its radiological hazard because it is only weakly radioactive, and depleted uranium even less so. DU has recently been recognized as a neurotoxin. In 2005, depleted uranium was shown to be a neurotoxin in rats. Epidemiological evidence is consistent with increased risk of birth defects in the offspring of persons exposed to DU.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Early studies of depleted uranium aerosol exposure assumed that uranium combustion product particles would quickly settle out of the air and thus could not affect populations more than a few kilometers from target areas, and that such particles, if inhaled, would remain undissolved in the lung for a great length of time and thus could be detected in urine. Uranyl ion contamination has been found on and around depleted uranium targets.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">In 2001, a study was published in Military Medicine that found DU in the urine of Gulf War veterans. Another study, published by <span class="mw-redirect">Health Physics</span> in 2004, also showed DU in the urine of Gulf War veterans. A study of UK veterans who thought they might have been exposed to DU showed aberrations in their white blood cell chromosomes. Mice immune cells exposed to uranium exhibit abnormalities.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">In the Balkans war zone where depleted uranium was also used, an absence of problems is seen by some as evidence of DU munitions' safety. "Independent investigations by the World Health Organization, European Commission, European Parliament, United Nations Environment Programme, United Kingdom Royal Society, and the Health Council of the Netherlands all discounted any association between depleted uranium and leukemia or other medical problems." In Italy, controversy over the health risks associated with the use of DU continues, with a Senate investigation committee was due to release its report into 'Balkan Syndrome' by the end of 2007. Since then, there has been a resurgence of interest in the health effects of depleted uranium, especially since it has recently been linked with neurotoxicity.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">The aerosol produced during impact and combustion of depleted uranium munitions can potentially contaminate wide areas around the impact sites or can be inhaled by civilians and military personnel. During a three week period of conflict in 2003 Iraq, 1,000 to 2,000 tonnes of DU munitions were used, mostly in cities. Depleted uranium may have been standard ordnance in the arsenals of both sides during the 2008 South Ossetia war.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Ruled_out">Ruled out</span></h3><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Several potential causes beyond vaccinations, stress, and oil well fires—explained in more detail below—have been ruled out. Other ruled-out potential causes include Scud missile fuel and infectious diseases. Limited evidence from several sources suggests that an association with the combined effects of multiple neurotoxicant exposures and receipt of multiple vaccines can not be ruled out.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><h4 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Anthrax_vaccine">Anthrax vaccine</span></h4><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Iraq had loaded anthrax, <span class="mw-redirect">botulinum toxin</span>, and aflatoxin into missiles and artillery shells in preparing for the Gulf War and that these munitions were deployed to four locations in Iraq. During Operation Desert Storm, 41% of U.S. combat soldiers and 75% of UK combat soldiers were vaccinated against anthrax. Like all vaccines, the early 1990s version of the <span class="mw-redirect">anthrax vaccine</span> was a source of several side effects. Reactions included local skin irritation, some lasting for weeks or months. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the vaccine, it never went through large scale clinical trials, unlike most other vaccines in the United States. While recent studies have demonstrated the vaccine’s is highly reactogenic, there is no clear evidence or epidemiological studies on Gulf War veterans linking the vaccine to Gulf War Syndrome. Combining this with the lack of symptoms from current deployments of individuals who have received the vaccine led the Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses to conclude that the vaccine is not a likely cause of Gulf War illness for most ill veterans.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><h4 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Combat_stress">Combat stress</span></h4><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">Research studies conducted since the war have consistently indicated that psychiatric illness, combat experience or other deployment-related stressors do not explain Gulf War veterans illnesses in the large majority of ill veterans, according to a <span class="mw-redirect">U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs</span> (VA) review committee.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">An April 2010 Institute of Medicine review found, "the excess of unexplained medical symptoms reported by deployed [1991] Gulf war veterans cannot be reliably ascribed to any known psychiatric disorder."</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><h4 style="text-align: justify;"><span class="mw-headline" id="Oil_well_fires">Oil well fires</span></h4><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">During the war, many oil wells were set on fire in Kuwait by the retreating Iraqi army, and the smoke from those fires was inhaled by large numbers of soldiers, many of whom suffered acute <span class="mw-redirect">pulmonary</span> and other chronic effects, including asthma and bronchitis. However, firefighters who were assigned to the oil well fires and encountered the smoke, but who did not take part in combat, have not had <b>Gulf War illness</b> symptoms.<br /></p>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-76200576416706336972010-11-14T22:25:00.000-08:002010-11-14T22:32:12.521-08:00Persian Gulf War Casualties<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TODT4k-Y6ZI/AAAAAAAAAO4/fo-AJCZMUGU/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 250px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TODT4k-Y6ZI/AAAAAAAAAO4/fo-AJCZMUGU/s320/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539660510617201042" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Civilian">Civilian Casualties in Persian Gulf War<br /></span></h3> <p>The increased importance of air attacks from both warplanes and cruise missiles led to much controversy over the number of civilian deaths caused during the initial stages of the war. Within the first 24 hours of the war, more than 1,000 sorties were flown, many against targets in Baghdad. The city was the target of heavy bombing, as it was the seat of power for President Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi forces' <span class="mw-redirect">command and control</span>. This ultimately led to substantial civilian casualties.</p> <p>During the bombing campaign prior to the ground war, many aerial attacks led to civilian casualties. In one particularly notable incident, stealth planes bombed a bunker in Amirya, causing the deaths of 200-400 civilians, who were taking refuge there at the time. Scenes of burned and mutilated bodies were subsequently broadcast, and controversy raged over the status of the bunker, with some stating that it was a civilian shelter, while others contended that it was a center of Iraqi military operations, and that the civilians had been deliberately moved there to act as <span class="mw-redirect">human shields</span>.</p> <p>An investigation by Beth Osborne Daponte estimated civilian fatalities at about 3,500 from bombing, and some 100,000 from other effects of the war.<sup id="cite_ref-autogenerated1_66-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-67" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-68" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Iraqi">Iraqi </span><span class="mw-headline" id="Civilian">Casualties in Persian Gulf War</span></h3> <p>The exact number of Iraqi combat casualties is unknown, but it is believed to have been heavy. Some estimate that Iraq sustained between 20,000 and 35,000 fatalities.<sup id="cite_ref-autogenerated1_66-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> A report commissioned by the U.S. Air Force, estimated 10,000-12,000 Iraqi combat deaths in the air campaign, and as many as 10,000 casualties in the ground war.<sup id="cite_ref-69" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> This analysis is based on Iraqi prisoner of war reports.</p> <p>Saddam Hussein's government gave high civilian casualty figures in order to draw support from the Islamic countries. The Iraqi government claimed that 2,300 civilians died during the air campaign. According to the Project on Defense Alternatives study, 3,664 Iraqi civilians, and between 20,000 and 26,000 military personnel, were killed in the conflict, while 75,000 Iraqi soldiers were wounded.<sup id="cite_ref-70" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Coalition">Coalition</span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Civilian">Casualties in Persian Gulf War</span></h3> <p>The DoD reports that U.S. forces suffered 148 battle-related deaths (35 to friendly fire), with one pilot listed as <span class="mw-redirect">MIA</span> (his remains were found and identified in August 2009). A further 145 Americans died in non-combat accidents.<sup id="cite_ref-cnn_71-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The UK suffered 47 deaths (9 to friendly fire), France two, and the Arab countries, not including Kuwait, suffered 37 deaths (18 Saudis, 10 Egyptians, 6 UAE, and 3 Syrians).<sup id="cite_ref-cnn_71-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> At least 605 Kuwaiti soldiers were still missing 10 years after their capture.<sup id="cite_ref-72" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The largest single loss of life among Coalition forces happened on 25 February 1991, when an Iraqi Al Hussein (missile) hit an American military barrack in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 28 <span class="mw-redirect">U.S. Army Reservists</span> from Pennsylvania. In all, 190 coalition troops were killed by Iraqi fire during the war, 113 of whom were American, out of a total of 358 coalition deaths. Another 44 soldiers were killed, and 57 wounded, by friendly fire. 145 soldiers died of exploding munitions, or non-combat accidents.<sup class="Template-Fact" title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from October 2008" style="white-space: nowrap;"></sup></p> <p>The number of coalition wounded in combat seems to have been 776, including 458 Americans.<sup id="cite_ref-73" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>However, as of the year 2000, 183,000 U.S. veterans of the Gulf War, more than a quarter of the U.S. troops who participated in War, have been declared permanently disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs.<sup id="cite_ref-74" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-75" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> About 30% of the 700,000 men and women who served in U.S. forces during the Gulf War still suffer an array of serious symptoms whose causes are not fully understood.<sup id="cite_ref-76" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>190 Coalition troops were killed by Iraqi combatants, the rest of the 379 coalition deaths being from friendly fire or accidents. This number was much lower than expected. Among the American dead were three female soldiers.</p> <p>This is a list of Coalition troops killed by country.</p> <dl><dd><span class="flagicon"><img alt="United States" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" class="thumbborder" height="12" width="22" /></span> United States - 294 (114 by enemy fire, 145 in accidents, 35 to friendly fire)</dd><dd><span class="flagicon"><img alt="United Kingdom" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png" class="thumbborder" height="11" width="22" /></span> United Kingdom - 47 (38 by enemy fire, 9 to friendly fire)</dd><dd><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Saudi Arabia" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svg.png" class="thumbborder" height="15" width="22" /></span> Saudi Arabia - 18<sup id="cite_ref-77" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></dd><dd><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Egypt" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Flag_of_Egypt.svg/22px-Flag_of_Egypt.svg.png" class="thumbborder" height="15" width="22" /></span> Egypt - 11<sup id="cite_ref-78" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></dd><dd><span class="flagicon"><img alt="United Arab Emirates" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg.png" class="thumbborder" height="11" width="22" /></span> United Arab Emirates - 6<sup id="cite_ref-79" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></dd><dd><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Syria" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Flag_of_Syria.svg/22px-Flag_of_Syria.svg.png" class="thumbborder" height="15" width="22" /></span> Syria - 2<sup id="cite_ref-80" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></dd><dd><span class="flagicon"><img alt="France" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Flag_of_France.svg/22px-Flag_of_France.svg.png" class="thumbborder" height="15" width="22" /></span> France - 2</dd><dd><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Kuwait" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Flag_of_Kuwait.svg/22px-Flag_of_Kuwait.svg.png" class="thumbborder" height="11" width="22" /></span> Kuwait - 1 (as part of Operation Desert Storm)<sup id="cite_ref-81" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></dd></dl> <h4><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Friendly_fire">Friendly fire casualties in Persian gulf war<br /></span></h4> <p>While the death toll among Coalition forces engaging Iraqi combatants was very low, a substantial number of deaths were caused by accidental attacks from other allied units. Of the 148 American troops who died in battle, 24% were killed by friendly fire, a total of 35 service personnel. A further 11 died in detonations of allied munitions. Nine British service personnel were killed in a friendly fire incident when a United States Air Force <span class="mw-redirect">A-10 Thunderbolt II</span> attacked a group of two Warrior IFVs.</p></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-48069499121092797592010-11-09T16:46:00.000-08:002010-11-09T16:51:30.468-08:00Ground Campaign of Persian Gulf War<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TNnshSY7UyI/AAAAAAAAAOA/k77MmrLrhvM/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TNnshSY7UyI/AAAAAAAAAOA/k77MmrLrhvM/s320/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537717273444963106" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Persian Gulf War ground campaign</span>: The Coalition forces dominated the air with their technological advantages, but the ground forces were considered to be more evenly matched. Coalition forces had the significant advantage of being able to operate under the protection of air supremacy that had been achieved by their air forces before the start of the main ground offensive. Coalition forces also had two key technological advantages:</p> <ol><li>The Coalition main battle tanks, such as the U.S. M1 Abrams, British <span class="mw-redirect">Challenger 1</span>, and Kuwaiti M-84AB were vastly superior to the Chinese <span class="mw-redirect">Type 69</span> and domestically built T-72 tanks used by the Iraqis, with crews better trained and armoured doctrine better developed.</li><li>The use of GPS made it possible for Coalition forces to navigate without reference to roads or other fixed landmarks. This, along with <span class="mw-redirect">air reconnaissance</span>, allowed them to fight a <span class="mw-redirect">battle of maneuver</span> rather than a battle of encounter: they knew where they were and where the enemy was, so they could attack a specific target rather than searching on the ground for enemy forces.</li></ol> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Liberation_of_Kuwait">Liberation of Kuwait</span></h3>American decoy attacks by air attacks and naval gunfire the night before the liberation of Kuwait were designed to make the Iraqis believe the main coalition ground attack would focus on Central Kuwait.For months, American units in Saudi Arabia had been under almost constant Iraqi artillery fire, as well as threats from Scud missile or chemical attacks. On 23 February 1991, the 1st Marine Division, 2nd Marine Division, and the 1st Light Armored Infantry crossed into Kuwait and headed toward Kuwait City. They encountered trenches, barbed wire, and minefields. However, these positions were poorly defended, and were overrun in the first few hours. Several tank battles took place, but apart from that, Coalition troops encountered minimal resistance, as most Iraqi troops surrendered. The general pattern was that the Iraqis would put up a short fight before surrendering. However, Iraqi air defenses shot down nine American aircraft. Meanwhile, forces from Arab countries advanced into Kuwait from the east, encountering little resistance and suffering few casualties. <p>Despite the successes of Coalition forces, it was feared that the Republican Guard would escape into Iraq before it could be destroyed. It was decided to send British armored forces into Kuwait fifteen hours ahead of schedule, and to send American forces after the Republican Guard. The Coalition advance was preceded by a heavy artillery and rocket barrage, after which 150,000 troops and 1,500 tanks began their advance. Iraqi forces in Kuwait counterattacked against U.S. troops, acting on a direct order from Saddam himself. Despite the intense combat, the Americans repulsed the Iraqis and continued to advance towards Kuwait city.</p> <p>Kuwaiti forces were tasked with liberating the city. Iraqi troops offered only light resistance. The Kuwaitis lost one soldier killed and one plane shot down, and quickly liberated the city. On 27 February, Saddam ordered a retreat from Kuwait. However, an Iraqi unit at Kuwait International Airport appeared not to have gotten the message, and fiercely resisted. U.S. Marines had to fight for hours before securing the airport, after which Kuwait was declared secure. After four days of fighting, Iraqi forces were expelled from Kuwait. As part of a <span class="mw-redirect">scorched-earth policy</span>, they set fire to nearly 700 oil wells, and placed land mines around the wells to make extinguishing the fires more difficult.</p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Initial_moves_into_Iraq">Initial moves into Iraq</span></h3>The first units to move into Iraq were three patrols of the B squadron of the British Special Air Service, call signs Bravo One Zero, Bravo Two Zero, and Bravo Three Zero, in late January. These eight-man patrols landed behind Iraqi lines to gather intelligence on the movements of Scud mobile missile launchers, which could not be detected from the air, as they were hidden under bridges and camouflage netting during the day. Other objectives included the destruction of the launchers and their fiber-optic communications arrays that lay in pipelines and relayed coordinates to the TEL operators that were launching attacks against Israel. The operations were designed to prevent any possible Israeli intervention. <p>Elements of the <span class="mw-redirect">2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division</span> of the U.S. Army performed a covert Reconnaissance into Iraq on 9 February 1991, followed by one in force on 20 February that destroyed an Iraqi regiment. From 15–20 February, the Battle of Wadi Al-Batin took place inside Iraq. It was a feint attack, designed to make the Iraqis think that a coalition invasion would take place from the south. The Iraqis fiercely resisted, and the Americans eventually withdrew. Three American soldiers were killed and nine wounded as well as several tanks and armored vehicles destroyed or damaged, but they had taken seven prisoners and destroyed five tanks and twenty prisoners, and successfully deceived the Iraqis. On 22 February 1991, Iraq agreed to a Soviet-proposed ceasefire agreement. The agreement called for Iraq to withdraw troops to pre-invasion positions within six weeks following a total cease-fire, and called for monitoring of the cease-fire and withdrawal to be overseen by the UN Security Council.</p> <p>The Coalition rejected the proposal, but said that retreating Iraqi forces would not be attacked, and gave twenty-four hours for Iraq to begin withdrawing forces. On 23 February, fighting resulted in the capture of 500 Iraqi soldiers. On 24 February, British and American armoured forces crossed the Iraq/Kuwait border and entered Iraq in large numbers, taking hundreds of prisoners. Iraqi resistance was light, and 4 Americans were killed.<sup id="cite_ref-leyden.com_61-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Coalition_forces_enter_Iraq">Coalition forces enter Iraq</span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"></div></div>Shortly afterwards, the <span class="mw-redirect">U.S. VII Corps</span> in full strength and, spearheaded by the 3rd Squadron of the <span class="mw-redirect">2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment</span> (3/2 ACR), launched an armored attack into Iraq early on 24 February, just to the west of Kuwait, taking Iraqi forces by surprise. Simultaneously, the <span class="mw-redirect">U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps</span> launched a sweeping “left-hook” attack across the largely undefended desert of southern Iraq, led by the <span class="mw-redirect">3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment (3rd ACR)</span> and the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized). The left flank of this movement was protected by the French 6th Light Armoured Division Daguet. <p>The French force quickly overcame the Iraqi 45th Infantry Division, suffering light casualties and taking a large number of prisoners, and took up blocking positions to prevent an Iraqi counter-attack on the Coalition flank. The right flank of the movement was protected by the <span class="mw-redirect">British 1st Armoured Division</span>. Once the allies had penetrated deep into Iraqi territory, they turned eastward, launching a flank attack against the elite Republican Guard before it could escape. The Iraqis resisted fiercely from dug-in positions and stationary vehicles, and even mounted armored charges.</p> <p>Unlike many previous engagements, the destruction of the first Iraqi tanks did not result in a mass surrender. The Iraqis suffered massive losses and lost dozens of tanks and vehicles, while American casualties were comparatively low, with a single Bradley knocked out. Coalition forces pressed another ten kilometers into Iraqi territory, and captured their objective within three hours. They took 500 prisoners and inflicted heavy losses, decimating the Iraqi 26th Infantry Division. An American soldier was killed by an Iraqi land mine, another five by friendly fire, and thirty wounded during the battle. American forces breached Iraqi defenses and decimated an entire Iraqi infantry division. Meanwhile, British forces attacked the Iraqi Medina Division and a major Republican Guard logistics base. In nearly two days of some of the war's most intense fighting, the British destroyed 40 enemy tanks and captured a division commander.</p> <p>Meanwhile, American forces attacked the village of <span class="mw-redirect">Al Busayyah</span>, meeting fierce resistance. They suffered no casualties, but destroyed a considerable amount of military hardware and took prisoners.</p> <p>On 25 February 1991, Iraqi forces fired a scud missile at an American barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The missile attack killed 28 American military personnel.<sup id="cite_ref-62" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The Coalition advance was much swifter than U.S. generals had expected. On 26 February, Iraqi troops began retreating from Kuwait, after they had set its oil fields on fire (737 oil wells were set on fire). A long convoy of retreating Iraqi troops formed along the main Iraq-Kuwait highway. Although they were retreating, this convoy was bombed so extensively by Coalition air forces that it came to be known as the Highway of Death. Hundreds of Iraqi troops were killed. Forces from the United States, the United Kingdom, and France continued to pursue retreating Iraqi forces over the border and back into Iraq, eventually moving to within 150 miles (240 km) of Baghdad before withdrawing from the Iraqi border.</p> <p>One hundred hours after the ground campaign started, on 28 February, President Bush declared a ceasefire, and he also declared that Kuwait had been liberated.</p></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-53173103948364432222010-11-05T05:56:00.000-07:002010-11-05T06:11:35.488-07:00Battle of Khafji<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TNQCU4gI8yI/AAAAAAAAANU/SM_R46WkzaA/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 175px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TNQCU4gI8yI/AAAAAAAAANU/SM_R46WkzaA/s320/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536052399733011234" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><p>On 29 January Iraqi forces attacked and occupied the lightly defended Saudi city of Khafji with tanks and infantry. The Battle of Khafji ended two days later when the Iraqis were driven back by the Saudi Arabian National Guard and the United States Marine Corps, supported by Qatari forces. The allied forces provided close air support and used extensive artillery fire.</p> <p>Casualties were heavy on both sides, although Iraqi forces sustained substantially more dead and captured than the allied forces. Eleven Americans were killed in two separate friendly fire incidents, an additional 14 U.S. airmen were killed when an American <span class="mw-redirect">AC-130</span> gunship was shot down by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile (SAM), and two American soldiers were captured during the battle. Saudi and Qatari forces had a total of 18 dead. Iraqi forces in Khafji had 60–300 dead and 400 captured.</p> <p>Khafji was a strategically important city immediately after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The Iraqi reluctance to commit several <span class="mw-redirect">armored divisions</span> to the occupation, and its subsequent use of Khafji as a launching pad into the initially lightly defended east of Saudi Arabia is considered by many academics a grave strategic error. Not only would Iraq have secured a majority of Middle Eastern oil supplies, but it would have found itself better able to threaten the subsequent U.S. deployment along superior defensive lines.</p><p>The <b>Battle of Khafji</b> was the first major ground engagement of the Gulf War. It took place in and around the Saudi Arabian city of Khafji, from 29 January to 1 February 1991 and marked the culmination of the Coalition's air campaign over Kuwait and Iraq, which had begun on 17 January 1991.</p> <p>Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who had already tried and failed to draw Coalition troops into costly ground engagements by shelling Saudi positions and oil storage tanks and firing Scud surface-to-surface missiles at Israel, ordered the invasion of Saudi Arabia from southern Kuwait. He ordered the 1st and 5th Mechanized Divisions and 3rd Armored Division to conduct a multi-pronged invasion toward Khafji, engaging American, Saudi and Qatari forces along the coastline.</p> <p>These three divisions, which had been heavily damaged by Coalition aircraft in the preceding days, attacked on 29 January. Most of their attacks were fought off by U.S. Marines as well as U.S. Army Rangers and Coalition aircraft, but one of the Iraqi columns occupied Khafji on the night of 29–30 January. Between 30 January and 1 February, two Saudi Arabian National Guard battalions and two Qatari tank companies attempted to retake control of the city, aided by Coalition aircraft and American artillery. By 1 February, the city had been recaptured at the cost of 43 Coalition soldiers dead and 52 wounded. The Iraqi Army lost between 60 and 300 dead, while an estimated 400 were captured as prisoners of war.</p> <p>The battle serves as a modern demonstration that air power can halt and defeat a major ground operation. It was also a major test of the Saudi and Qatari armies. Although the capture of Khafji was a propaganda victory for Saddam Hussein's regime, its subsequent recapture by Saudi and Qatari ground forces provided a major morale boost for the Coalition.</p><h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Background">Background</span></h2> <p>On August 2, 1990, the Iraqi Army invaded and occupied the neighboring state of Kuwait.<sup id="cite_ref-Lewis481_2-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The invasion, which followed the inconclusive Iran–Iraq War and three decades of political conflict with Kuwait, offered Saddam Hussein the ability to distract political dissent at home and add Kuwait's oil resources to Iraq's own, a boon in a time of declining petroleum prices.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>In response, the United Nations began to pass a series of resolutions demanding the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Kuwait.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Afraid that Saudi Arabia would be invaded next, the Saudi government requested immediate military aid.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> As a result, the United States began marshalling forces from a variety of nations, styled the Coalition, on the <span class="mw-redirect">Arabian peninsula</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Initially, Saddam Hussein attempted to deter Coalition military action by threatening Kuwait's and Iraq's petroleum production and export. In December 1990, Iraq experimented with the use of explosives to destroy wellheads in the area of the Ahmadi loading complex, developing their capability to destroy Kuwait's petroleum infrastructure on a large scale. On 16 January, Iraqi artillery destroyed an oil storage tank in Al-Khafji, Saudi Arabia and on 19 January the pumps at the Ahmadi loading complex were opened, pouring crude oil into the Persian Gulf. The oil flowed into the sea at a rate of 200,000 barrels a day, becoming one of the worst ecological disasters to that date.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Despite these Iraqi threats, the Coalition launched a 38-day aerial campaign on 17 January 1991.<sup id="cite_ref-Lewis481_2-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Flying an estimated 2,000 sorties a day,<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Coalition aircraft rapidly crippled the Iraqi air defense systems and all but destroyed the Iraqi Air Force,<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> whose daily sortie rate plummeted from a prewar level of an estimated 200 per day to almost none by 17 January.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> On the third day of the campaign, many Iraqi pilots fled across the Iranian border in their aircraft rather than be destroyed.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The air campaign also targeted command-and-control sites, bridges, railroads, and petroleum storage facilities.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Saddam Hussein, who is believed to have said, "The air force has never decided a war," nevertheless worried that the air campaign would erode Iraq's national morale. The Iraqi leader also believed that the United States would not be willing to lose many troops in action, and therefore sought to draw Coalition ground troops into a decisive battle.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> In an attempt to provoke a ground battle, he directed Iraqi forces to launch Scud missiles against Israel, while continuing to threaten the destruction of oilfields in Kuwait.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> These efforts were unsuccessful in provoking a large ground battle,<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> so Saddam Hussein decided to launch a limited offensive into Saudi Arabia with the aim of inflicting heavy losses on the Coalition armies.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>As the air campaign continued, the Coalition's expectations of an Iraqi offensive decreased. As a result, the United States redeployed the XVIII Airborne Corps and the VII Corps 480 kilometers (300 mi) to the west. The Coalition's leadership believed that should an Iraqi force go on the offensive, it would be launched from the al-Wafra oil fields, in Southern Kuwait.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h2><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Order_of_battle">Order of battle</span></h2> <p>The Iraqi Army had between 350,000 and 500,000 soldiers in theater,<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> organized into 51 divisions, including eight <span class="mw-redirect">Republican Guard</span> divisions.<sup id="cite_ref-Press13_19-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Republican Guard units normally received the newest equipment;<sup id="cite_ref-Press13_19-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> for example, most of the estimated 1,000 T-72 tanks in the Iraqi Army on the eve of the war were in Republican Guard divisions.<sup id="cite_ref-Zaloga38_20-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The Iraqi Army in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations (KTO) also included nine heavy divisions, composed mostly of professional soldiers, but with weapons of a generally lesser grade than those issued to the Republican Guard.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Most non-Republican Guard armored units had older tank designs, mainly the T-55 or its Chinese equivalents, the Type 59 and <span class="mw-redirect">Type 69</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The remaining 34 divisions were composed of poorly trained conscripts. These divisions were deployed to channel the Coalition's forces through a number of break points along the front, allowing the Iraqi Army's heavy divisions and the Republican Guard units to isolate them and counterattack.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> However, the Iraqis left their western flank open, failing to account for tactics made possible by the Global Positioning System and other new technologies.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>In Saudi Arabia, the Coalition originally deployed over 200,000 soldiers, 750 aircraft and 1,200 tanks.<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> This quickly grew to 3,600 tanks and over 600,000 personnel,<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> of whom over 500,000 were from the United States.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span> <span class="mw-headline" id="Iraqi_forces">Iraqi forces in Battle of Khafji<br /></span></h3> <p>Earmarked for the offensive into Saudi Arabia was the Iraqi Third Corps,<sup id="cite_ref-Williams.2C_p._3_28-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> the 1st Mechanized Division from Fourth Corps and a number of commando units.<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Third Corps, commanded by Major General Salah Aboud Mahmoud (who would also command the overall offensive), had 3rd Armored Division and 5th Mechanized Division,<sup id="cite_ref-Williams.2C_p._3_28-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> as well as a number of infantry divisions. Fourth Corps' commander was Major General Yaiyd Khalel Zaki. The 3rd Armored Division had a number of T-72 tanks, the only non-Republican Guard force to have them,<sup id="cite_ref-Zaloga38_20-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> while the other armored battalions had T-62s and T-55s,<sup id="cite_ref-Westermeyer5_30-0" class="reference"><span>[</span>31<span>]</span></sup> a few of which had an Iraqi appliqué armor similar to the Soviet bulging armor also known as "brow" laminate armor or BDD.</p> <p>During the battle of Khafji, these upgraded T-55s survived impacts from Milan anti-tank missiles.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> These divisions also had armored personnel vehicles such as the BMP-1, scout vehicles such as the BRDM-2, and several types of artillery.<sup id="cite_ref-Westermeyer5_30-1" class="reference"><span></span></sup> Also deployed along this portion of the front, though not chosen to participate in the invasion, were five infantry divisions that were under orders to remain in their defensive positions along the border.<sup id="cite_ref-Westermeyer5_30-2" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>U.S. Marine Corps reconnaissance estimated that the Iraqi Army had amassed around 60,000 troops across the border, near the Kuwaiti town of Wafra, in as many as 5 or 6 divisions.<sup id="cite_ref-Williams13_32-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Infantry divisions normally consisted of three brigades with an attached commando unit, although some infantry divisions could have up to eight brigades–however most infantry divisions along the border were understrength, primarily due to desertion.<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Armored and mechanized divisions normally made use of three brigades, with each brigade having up to four combat battalions; depending on the division type, these were generally a three to one mix, with either three mechanized battalions and one armored battalion, or vice versa.<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Given the size of the forces deployed across the border, it is thought that the Iraqi Army planned to continue the offensive, after the successful capture of Al-Khafji, in order to seize the valuable oil fields at Damman.<sup id="cite_ref-Williams13_32-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The attack would consist of a four-prong offensive. The 1st Mechanized Division would pass through the 7th and 14th Infantry Divisions to protect the flank of the 3rd Armored Division, which would provide a blocking force west of Al-Khafji while the 5th Mechanized Division took the town. The 1st Mechanized and 3rd Armored divisions would then retire to Kuwait, while the 5th Mechanized Division would wait until the Coalition launched a counteroffensive. The principal objectives were to inflict heavy casualties on the attacking Coalition soldiers and take prisoners of war, whom Saddam Hussein theorized would be an excellent bargaining tool with the Coalition.<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>As the units moved to the Saudi border, many were attacked by Coalition aircraft. Around the Al-Wafrah forest, about 1,000 Iraqi armored fighting vehicles were attacked by Harrier aircraft with Rockeye cluster bombs.<sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Another Iraqi convoy of armored vehicles was hit by <span class="mw-redirect">A-10s</span>, which destroyed the first and last vehicles, before systematically attacking the stranded remainder.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Such air raids prevented the majority of the Iraqi troops deployed for the offensive from taking part in it.<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <table class="wikitable" style="border-collapse: collapse; text-align: left;" summary="Characteristics of Iraqi armored fighting vehicles at Khafji" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"> <caption>Iraqi armored fighting vehicles at Khafji</caption> <tbody><tr style="vertical-align: bottom; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153);"> <th><br /></th> <th style="text-align: left;">T-72<sup id="cite_ref-Zaloga28_39-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></th> <th style="text-align: left;"><span class="mw-redirect">T-55</span><sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></th> <th style="text-align: left;">T-62<sup id="cite_ref-41" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></th> <th style="text-align: left;">BMP-1<sup id="cite_ref-Zaloga28_39-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></th> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: right;">Weight</th> <td>37.6 t (41.5 short tons)</td> <td>36 t (39.7 tons)</td> <td>40 t (44 tons)</td> <td>13.9 t (15.3 tons)</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: right;">Gun</th> <td>125 mm 2A46D smoothbore (4.92 inches)</td> <td>100 mm D-10T2S rifled (3.94 in)</td> <td>115 mm U-5T smoothbore (4.53 in)</td> <td>73 mm 2A2B Grom Low-pressure gun (2.9 in)</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: right;">Ammunition</th> <td>44 rounds</td> <td>43 rounds</td> <td>40 rounds</td> <td>40 rounds</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: right;">Road range</th> <td>342.8 km (300 miles)</td> <td>500 km (310.7 mi)</td> <td>300–450 km (186–279 mi)</td> <td>500 km (310.7 mi)</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: right;">Engine output</th> <td>780 PS (573.7 kW)</td> <td>580 PS (426.6 kW)</td> <td>580 PS (426.6 kW)</td> <td>300 PS (220.6 kW)</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: right;">Maximum speed</th> <td>60 km/h (37.3 mph)</td> <td>50 km/h (30 mph)</td> <td>50 km/h (30 mph)</td> <td>40 km/h (24.9 mph)</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Coalition_forces">Coalition forces</span></h3> <p>During the buildup of forces, the United States had built observation posts along the Kuwaiti and Iraqi border to gather intelligence on Iraqi forces. These were manned by United States Navy SEALs, Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance and Army Special Forces personnel. Observation post 8 was farthest to the east, on the coast, and another seven observation posts were positioned each 20 km (12 mi) until the end of the "heel", the geographic panhandle of southernmost Kuwait. Observation posts 8 and 7 overlooked the coastal highway that ran to Al-Khafji, considered the most likely invasion route of the city.<sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> 1st Marine Division had three companies positioned at observation posts 4, 5, and 6 (Task Force Shepard), while the 2nd Marine Division's 2nd Light Armored Infantry Battalion set up a screen between observation post 1 and the Al-Wafrah oil fields.<sup id="cite_ref-Westermeyer10_43-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The Saudis gave responsibility for the defense of Al-Khafji to the 2nd Saudi Arabian National Guard Brigade and a Qatari armored battalion, attached to Task Force Abu Bakr. The 5th Battalion of the 2nd Saudi Arabian National Guard Brigade set up a screen north and west of Al-Khafji, under observation post 7.<sup id="cite_ref-Westermeyer10_43-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> At the time, a Saudi Arabian National Guard Brigade could have up to four motorized battalions, each with three line companies. The brigade had a nominal strength of an estimated 5,000 soldiers.<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The Saudis also deployed the Tariq Task Force, composed of Saudi Arabian Marines and a battalion of Moroccan infantry. Two further task forces, Othman and Omar Task Forces, consisted of two Mechanized Ministry of Defense and Aviation Brigades, providing screens about 3 km (1.9 mi) south of the border. The country's main defenses were placed 20 km (12 mi) south of the screen.<sup id="cite_ref-Westermeyer10_43-2" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The majority of the Arab contingent was led by General Khaled bin Sultan. The forces around Al-Khafji were organized into the Joint Forces Command-East, while Joint Forces Command-North defended the border between observation post 1 and the Kuwaiti-Iraqi border.<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Khafji#cite_note-45"><span></span><span></span></a></sup></p> <div class="thumb tright"> <div class="thumbinner" style="width: 222px;"><br /></div> </div> <table class="wikitable" style="border-collapse: collapse; text-align: left;" summary="Characteristics of Coalition armored fighting vehicles at Khafji" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"> <caption>Coalition armored fighting vehicles at Khafji</caption> <tbody><tr style="vertical-align: bottom; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153);"> <th><br /></th> <th style="text-align: left;">AMX-30<sup id="cite_ref-46" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></th> <th style="text-align: left;">V-150<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></th> <th style="text-align: left;">LAV-25<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></th> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: right;">Weight</th> <td>36 t (39.7 short tons)</td> <td>10 t (11.02 tons)</td> <td>16.3 t (18 tons)</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: right;">Gun</th> <td>105 mm modele F1 rifled (4.13 inches)</td> <td>90 mm Cockerill rifled (3.54 i)</td> <td>25 mm autocannon (0.98 in)</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: right;">Ammunition</th> <td>50 rounds</td> <td>39 rounds</td> <td>420 rounds</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: right;">Road range</th> <td>600 km (370 mi)</td> <td>643 km (400 mi)</td> <td>660 km (410 mi)</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: right;">Engine output</th> <td>780 PS (573.7 kW)</td> <td>202 PS (148.6 kW)</td> <td>350 PS (257.4 kW)</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="text-align: right;">Maximum speed</th> <td>60 km/h (37.3 mph)</td> <td>88 km/h (54.7 mph)</td> <td>99 km/h (61.5 mph)</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <h2><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Battle">Battle</span></h2> <p>On 27 January 1991, President Saddam Hussein met with the two Iraqi army corps commanders who would lead the operation in Basra, and Major General Salah Mahmoud told him that Khafji would be his by 30 January. During his return trip to Baghdad, Saddam Hussein's convoy was attacked by Coalition aircraft; the Iraqi leader escaped unscathed.<sup id="cite_ref-Williams13_32-2" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Throughout 28 January, the Coalition received a number of warnings suggesting an impending Iraqi offensive. The Coalition was flying two brand-new E-8A Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) aircraft, which picked up the deployment and movement of Iraqi forces to the area opposite of Al-Khafji.<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Observation posts 2, 7 and 8 also detected heavy Iraqi reconnoitering along the border, and their small teams of air-naval gunfire liaison Marines called in air and artillery strikes throughout the day. Lieutenant Colonel Richard Barry, commander of the forward headquarters of the 1st Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Intelligence Group, sent warnings about an impending attack to Central Command. CentCom leaders were too preoccupied with the air campaign to heed them however,<sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> and so the Iraqi operation came as a surprise.<sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Beginning_of_Iraqi_offensive:_29_January">Beginning of Iraqi offensive: 29 January</span></h3> <p>The Iraqi offensive began on the night of 29 January, when approximately 2,000 soldiers in several hundred armored fighting vehicles moved south.<sup id="cite_ref-54" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The Gulf War's first ground engagement was near observation post 4, built on the Al-Zabr police building.<sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-56" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Elements of the Iraqi 6th Armored Brigade, ordered to take the heights above Al-Zabr, engaged Coalition units at Al-Zabr.<sup id="cite_ref-57" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> At 20:00 hours, U.S. Marines at the observation post, who had noticed large groups of armored vehicles through their night vision devices, attempted to talk to battalion headquarters but received no response. Contact was not established until 20:30 hours, which prompted Task Force Shepard to respond to the threat. Coalition soldiers at observation post 4 opened fire on the Iraqi column, but this largely ineffective fire drew a heavy Iraqi response which forced the company to retire south, by order of its commanding officer.<sup id="cite_ref-58" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>To cover the withdrawal, the company's platoon of LAV-25s and LAV-ATs (anti-tank variants) moved to engage the Iraqi force. One of the anti-tank vehicles opened fire, after receiving permission, at what it believed was an Iraqi tank. Instead, the missile destroyed a friendly LAV-AT a few hundred meters in front of it. Despite this loss, the platoon continued forward and soon opened fire on the Iraqi tanks with the LAV-25's autocannons. The fire could not penetrate the tanks' armor, but did disorient their tank commanders.<sup id="cite_ref-59" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Soon thereafter, a number of A-10 ground-attack aircraft arrived but found it difficult to pinpoint enemy targets and began dropping flares to illuminate the zone. One of these flares landed on a friendly vehicle, and although the vehicle radioed in its position, it was hit by an AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missile that killed the entire crew except for the driver. Following the incident, the company was withdrawn and the remaining vehicles reorganized into another nearby company.<sup id="cite_ref-60" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> With observation post 4 cleared, the Iraqi 6th Armored Brigade withdrew over the border to Al-Wafrah under heavy fire from Coalition aircraft. Coalition forces had lost 11 troops to friendly fire and none to enemy action.<sup id="cite_ref-61" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-62" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>While the events at observation post 4 were unfolding, the Iraqi 5th Mechanized Division crossed the Saudi border near observation post 1. A Company of the 2nd Light Infantry Armored Battalion, which was screening the Iraqi unit, reported a column of 60–100 BMPs. The column was engaged by Coalition A-10s and Harrier jump jets. This was then followed by another column with an estimated 29 tanks. One of the column's T-62 tanks was engaged by an anti-tank missile and destroyed.<sup id="cite_ref-63" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Coalition air support, provided by A-10s and <span class="mw-redirect">F-16s</span>, engaged the Iraqi drive through observation post 1 and ultimately repulsed the attack back over the Iraqi border. Aircraft continued to engage the columns throughout the night, until the next morning.<sup id="cite_ref-64" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Another column of Iraqi tanks, approaching observation post 2, were engaged by aircraft and also repulsed that night.<sup id="cite_ref-65" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>An additional Iraqi column crossed the Saudi border to the East, although still along the coast, towards the city of Khafji.<sup id="cite_ref-66" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> These Iraqi tanks were screened by the 5th Mechanized Battalion of the 2nd Saudi Arabian National Guard Brigade. This battalion withdrew when it came under heavy fire, as it had been ordered to not engage the Iraqi column. Elements of the 8th and 10th Saudi Arabian National Guard Brigades also conducted similar screening operations. Due to the order to not engage, the road to Al-Khafji was left open.<sup id="cite_ref-Westermeyer22_67-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> At one point, Iraqi T-55s of another column rolled up to the Saudi border, signaling that they intended to surrender. As they were approached by Saudi Arabian troops, they reversed their turrets and opened fire. This prompted air support from a nearby AC-130, destroying 13 vehicles.<sup id="cite_ref-68" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Nevertheless, the Iraqi advance towards Al-Khafji continued on this sector, despite repeated attacks from an AC-130. Attempts by the Saudi commanders to call in additional air strikes on the advancing Iraqi column failed when the requested heavy air support never arrived.<sup id="cite_ref-69" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Al-Khafji was occupied by approximately 00:30 on 30 January,<sup id="cite_ref-70" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> trapping two six-man reconnaissance teams from the 1st Marine Division in the city. The teams occupied two apartment buildings in the southern sector of the city and called artillery fire on their position to persuade the Iraqis to call off a search of the area.<sup id="cite_ref-71" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Throughout the night, Coalition air support composed of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft continued to engage Iraqi tanks and artillery.<sup id="cite_ref-72" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Initial_response:_30_January">Initial response: 30 January</span></h3> <p>Distressed by the occupation of Khafji, Saudi commander General Khaled bin Sultan appealed to American General <span class="mw-redirect">Norman Schwarzkopf</span> for an immediate air campaign against Iraqi forces in and around the city. However this was turned down, and it was instead decided that the city would be retaken by Arab forces.<sup id="cite_ref-73" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The task fell to the 2nd Saudi Arabian National Guard Brigade's 7th Battalion, composed of Saudi infantry and two Qatari tank companies attached to the task force.<sup id="cite_ref-74" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> These were supported by U.S. Army Special Forces and Marine Reconnaissance personnel.<sup id="cite_ref-75" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The force was put under the command of Saudi Lieutenant Colonel Matar, who moved out by 17:00 hours. The force met up with elements of the U.S. 3rd Marine Regiment, south of Khafji, and were ordered to directly attack the city.<sup id="cite_ref-76" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The engagement of that night was to be the first battle the Qatari Army had seen in its entire history.<sup id="cite_ref-Williams45_77-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> A platoon of Iraqi T-55s attacked a Qatari tank company south of the city, leading to the destruction of three T-55s by Qatari AMX-30s, and the capture of a fourth Iraqi tank.<sup id="cite_ref-Westermeyer27_78-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Lacking any coordinated artillery support,<sup id="cite_ref-Williams45_77-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> artillery fire was provided by the 11th Marine Regiment.<sup id="cite_ref-Westermeyer27_78-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>An initial attack on the city was called off after the Iraqi occupants opened up a heavy fire, prompting the Saudis to reinforce the 7th Battalion with two more companies from adjacent Saudi units.<sup id="cite_ref-79" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The attempt to retake the city had been preceded by a 15-minute preparatory fire from U.S. Marine artillery. However Iraqi fire did manage to destroy one Saudi V-150 armored personnel carrier.<sup id="cite_ref-Westermeyer28_80-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Meanwhile, 2nd Saudi Arabian National Guard Brigade's 5th Battalion moved north of Al-Khafji to block Iraqi reinforcements attempting to reach the city. This unit was further bolstered by the 8th Ministry of Defense and Aviation Brigade, and heavily aided by Coalition air support. Although fear of friendly fire forced the 8th Ministry of Defense and Aviation Brigade to pull back the following morning, Coalition aircraft successfully hindered Iraqi attempts to move more soldiers down to Al-Khafji and caused large numbers of Iraqi troops to surrender to Saudi forces.<sup id="cite_ref-Westermeyer28_80-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>That night, two U.S. Army heavy equipment transporters entered the city of Al-Khafji, apparently lost, and were fired upon by Iraqi troops. Although one truck managed to turn around and escape, the two drivers of the second truck were wounded and captured. This led to a rescue mission organized by 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Marine Regiment, which sent a force of 30 men to extract the two wounded drivers. Although encountering no major opposition, they did not find the two drivers who had, by this time, been taken prisoner. The Marines did find a burnt out Qatari AMX-30, with its dead crew.<sup id="cite_ref-81" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> That same night, a U.S. Air Force AC-130 was shot down by an Iraqi <span class="mw-redirect">surface to air missile</span> (SAM), killing the aircraft's crew of 14.<sup id="cite_ref-82" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The interdiction on the part of Coalition aircraft and Saudi and Qatari ground forces was having an effect on the occupying Iraqi troops. Referring to Saddam Hussein's naming of the ground engagement as the "mother of all battles", Iraqi General Salah radioed in a request to withdraw, stating, "The mother was killing her children."<sup id="cite_ref-83" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Since the beginning of the battle, Coalition aircraft had flown at least 350 sorties against Iraqi units in the area and on the night of 30–31 January, Coalition air support also began to attack units of the Iraqi Third Corps assembled on the Saudi border.<sup id="cite_ref-84" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Recapture_of_Khafji:_31_January.E2.80.931_February">Recapture of Khafji: 31 January–1 February</span></h3> <p>On 31 January, the effort to retake the city began anew. The attack was launched at 08:30 hours, and was met by inaccurate Iraqi fire which knocked-out two Saudi V-150 wheeled vehicles.<sup id="cite_ref-85" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The 8th battalion of the Saudi brigade was ordered to deploy to the city by 10:00 hours, while 5th Battalion to the north engaged another column of Iraqi tanks attempting to reach the city. The latter engagement led to the destruction of around 13 Iraqi tanks and armored personnel carriers, and the capture of 6 more vehicles and 116 Iraqi soldiers, costing the Saudi battalion two dead and two wounded. The 8th Battalion engaged the city from the northeast, linking up with 7th Battalion. These units cleared the southern portion of the city, until 7th Battalion withdrew south to rest and rearm at 18:30 hours, while the 8th remained in Al-Khafji.<sup id="cite_ref-Stanton9_86-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The 8th continued clearing buildings and by the time the 7th had withdrawn to the south, the Saudis had lost approximately 18 dead and 50 wounded, as well as seven V-150 vehicles. Coalition aircraft continued to provide heavy support throughout the day and night.<sup id="cite_ref-87" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> A veteran of the Iran-Iraq War later mentioned that Coalition airpower "imposed more damage on his brigade in half an hour than it had sustained in eight years of fighting against the Iranians."<sup id="cite_ref-88" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> During the battle, an Iraqi amphibious force was sent to land on the coast and move into Khafji. As the boats made their way through the Persian Gulf towards Khafji, American and British aircraft caught the Iraqi boats in the open and largely destroyed the Iraqi amphibious force.<sup id="cite_ref-89" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The Saudi and Qatari units renewed operations the following day. Two Iraqi companies, with about 20 armored vehicles, remained in the city and had not attempted to break out during the night. While the Saudi 8th Battalion continued operations in the southern portion of the city, the 7th Battalion began to clear the northern sector of the city. Iraqi resistance was sporadic and most Iraqi soldiers surrendered on sight; as a result, the city was recaptured on 1 February 1991.<sup id="cite_ref-90" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h2><span class="editsection"></span>Battle of Khafji <span class="mw-headline" id="Aftermath">Aftermath</span></h2> <p>During the battle, Coalition forces lost 43 dead and 52 wounded. This included 25 Americans killed, 11 of them to friendly fire, and two wounded; another two soldiers were captured in Al-Khafji.<sup id="cite_ref-Westermeyer32_0-2" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The 14 American soldiers killed by enemy action were Air Force crewmen killed when their <span class="mw-redirect">AC-130</span> plane was shot down by an Iraqi SAM. Saudi and Qatari casualties amounted to 18 killed and 50 wounded. Two Qatari AMX-30s main battle tanks and between seven and ten lightly armored Saudi V-150s were knocked-out.<sup id="cite_ref-Westermeyer32_0-3" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Stanton10_1-2" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Iraq listed its casualties as 71 dead, 148 wounded and 702 missing. U.S. sources present at the battle claim that 300 Iraqis lost their lives, and at least 90 vehicles were destroyed.<sup id="cite_ref-Westermeyer32_0-4" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Another source suggests that 60 Iraqi soldiers were killed and at least 400 taken prisoner, while no less than 80 armored vehicles were knocked-out; however these casualties are attributed to both the fighting inside and directly north of Khafji.<sup id="cite_ref-Stanton10_1-3" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Whatever the exact casualties, the majority of three heavy Iraqi divisions had been destroyed.<sup id="cite_ref-91" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The Iraqi capture of Al-Khafji was a major propaganda victory for Iraq: on 30 January the Iraqi radio claimed that they had "expelled Americans from the Arab territory".<sup id="cite_ref-92" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> For many in the Arab world, the battle of Khafji was seen as an Iraqi victory, and Hussein made every possible effort to turn the battle into a political victory.<sup id="cite_ref-93" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> On the other side, confidence within the United States Armed Forces in the abilities of the Saudi and Qatari armies increased as the battle progressed. After Khafji, the Coalition's leadership began to sense that the Iraqi Army was a "hollow force" and it provided them with an impression of the degree of resistance they would face during the Coalition's ground offensive that would begin later that year. The battle was also a major propaganda victory for Saudi Arabia, who had successfully defended its territory.<sup id="cite_ref-94" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Despite the success of the engagements between 29 January and 1 February, the Coalition did not launch its main offensive into Kuwait and Iraq until the night of 24–25 February. The invasion of Iraq was completed about 48 hours later. The Battle of Khafji served as a modern example of the ability of overwhelming air power to stop a major offensive decisively. It offered the Coalition an indication of the manner in which <span class="mw-redirect">Operation Desert Storm</span> would be fought, but also hinted at future friendly-fire casualties which accounted for nearly half of the American dead.</p><p style="font-weight: bold;">Battle of Khafji Video:</p><p><br /></p><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pfDUZZ6Yayw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pfDUZZ6Yayw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-90431409125717062152010-11-01T13:50:00.000-07:002010-11-01T13:56:03.958-07:00Iraq Launches Scud Missile<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TM8pWjAqXWI/AAAAAAAAAMk/Cgv-QVEttsA/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 233px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TM8pWjAqXWI/AAAAAAAAAMk/Cgv-QVEttsA/s320/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534687934393507170" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Iraq Launches Scud Missile to Israel in Persian Gulf War</span>. The Iraqi government made no secret that it would attack Israel if invaded. Prior to the start of the war, Tariq Aziz, Iraq's English-speaking Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, was asked in the aftermath of the failed U.S.-Iraq peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland by a reporter. <i>“Mr. Foreign Minister, if war starts...will you attack Israel?”</i> the reporter asked. His response was, <i>“Yes, absolutely, yes.”</i><sup id="cite_ref-54" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Five hours after the first attacks, Iraq's state radio broadcast a voice identified as Saddam Hussein declaring that "The great duel, the mother of all battles has begun. The dawn of victory nears as this great showdown begins." Iraq responded by launching eight Al Hussein missiles into Israel the next day. These missile attacks on Israel were to continue throughout the six weeks of the war.</p> <p>The Iraqis hoped that they would provoke a military response from Israel. It was expected that many Arab nations would withdraw from the coalition, as they would be reluctant to fight alongside Israel. Israel, at the request of the United States, did not launch counterstrikes, and all Arab states remained in the coalition. The potency of the Scud missiles was felt in the Dhahran missile attack, which killed 28 U.S. soldiers.</p> <p>The Scud missiles targeting Israel were relatively ineffective, as firing at extreme range resulted in a dramatic reduction in accuracy and payload.</p> <p>Two Israeli civilians died from these attacks, and approximately 230 were injured. Of the reported injuries, 10 were considered moderate injuries, while one was considered a severe injury.<sup id="cite_ref-publicpolicy.umd.edu_9-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Several others suffered fatal heart attacks immediately following the missile strikes. Extensive property damage was also caused. It was also feared that Iraq would fire missiles filled with nerve agents or sarin. As a result, the Israeli government issued gas masks to its citizens. When the first Iraqi missiles hit Tel Aviv, some people injected themselves with an antidote for nerve gas. Israel was ready to respond with military force to these attacks, but agreed when asked not to by the U.S. Government, who feared that if Israel became involved, the other Arab nations would either desert from the coalition or join Iraq. It was also feared that if the Israeli Air Force used Syrian or Jordanian airspace to attack Iraq, then they would intervene in the war on Iraq's side or attack Israel. Israeli policy for the previous forty years had always been retaliation, but Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir showed restraint and agreed not to retaliate in response to requests from the United States to remain out of the conflict.<sup id="cite_ref-56" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Israel was given two batteries of MIM-104 Patriot missiles for the protection of civilians.<sup id="cite_ref-57" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Allied air forces were also extensively exercised in "Scud hunts" in the Iraqi desert, trying to locate the camouflaged trucks before they fired their missiles at Israel or Saudi Arabia.</p> <p>The Royal Netherlands Air Force also deployed Patriot missiles in both Turkey and Israel to counter the Scud threat. The Dutch Ministry of Defense later stated that the military use of the Patriot missile system was largely ineffective, but its psychological value was high.<sup id="cite_ref-nederland2009_58-0" class="reference"><span>[</span>59<span>]</span></sup> It has been suggested that the sturdy construction techniques used in Israeli cities, coupled with the fact that Scuds were only launched at night, played an important role in limiting the number deaths and injuries from Scud attacks.<sup id="cite_ref-publicpolicy.umd.edu_9-2" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Three Scud missiles and a coalition Patriot that malfunctioned hit Ramat Gan in Israel on 22 January 1991, injuring 96 people, and possibly causing the deaths of three elderly people who died of <span class="mw-redirect">heart attacks</span>.</p> <p>Forty-two Scud missiles were fired by Iraq into Israel during the seven weeks of the war.<sup id="cite_ref-59" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> In addition, 44 Scud missiles were fired into Saudi Arabia, and one missile was fired at Bahrain and another at Qatar. The missiles were fired at both military and civilian targets. One Saudi civilian was killed, and 65 others were injured. No injuries were reported in Bahrain or Qatar.</p> On 25 February 1991, a Scud missile hit a U.S. Army barracks of the 14th Quartermaster Detachment, out of Greensburg, PA, stationed in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia killing 28 soldiers and injuring over 100.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Gulf_War#cite_note-iraqwatch.org-10"><span></span></a></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-20121302015844036202010-10-30T22:55:00.000-07:002010-10-30T22:57:29.694-07:00Persian Gulf War Air Campaign<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TM0FPy1QRBI/AAAAAAAAAL0/-E48H_65N1w/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TM0FPy1QRBI/AAAAAAAAAL0/-E48H_65N1w/s320/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534085286009521170" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><p>The <span style="font-weight: bold;">Persian Gulf War or First Gulf War</span> started with an extensive aerial bombing campaign on 17 January 1991. The coalition flew over 100,000 sorties, dropping 88,500 tons of bombs,<sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> and widely destroying military and civilian infrastructure.<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The air campaign was commanded by <span class="mw-redirect">USAF</span> Lieutenant General Chuck Horner, who briefly served as Commander-in-Chief - Forward of <span class="mw-redirect">U.S. Central Command</span> while General Schwarzkopf was still in the United States.</p> <p>A day after the deadline set in Resolution 678, the coalition launched a massive air campaign, which began the general offensive codenamed Operation Desert Storm. The first priority for Coalition forces was <span class="mw-redirect">the destruction of the Iraqi air force and anti-aircraft facilities.</span> The sorties were launched mostly from Saudi Arabia and the six Coalition <span class="mw-redirect">aircraft carrier battle groups</span> (<span class="mw-redirect">CVBG</span>) in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.</p> <p>The next coalition targets were command and communication facilities. Saddam Hussein had closely micromanaged the Iraqi forces in the Iran–Iraq War, and initiative at lower levels was discouraged. Coalition planners hoped that Iraqi resistance would quickly collapse if deprived of command and control.</p> <p>The third and largest phase of the air campaign targeted military targets throughout Iraq and Kuwait: Scud missile launchers, weapons research facilities, and naval forces. About one-third of the Coalition airpower was devoted to attacking scuds, some of which were on trucks and therefore difficult to locate. Some U.S. and British special forces teams had been covertly inserted into western Iraq to aid in the search and destruction of Scuds.</p> Iraqi antiaircraft defenses, including <span class="mw-redirect">MANPADs</span>, were surprisingly ineffective against coalition aircraft and the coalition suffered only 75 aircraft losses in over 100,000 sorties, 44 of which were the result of Iraqi action. Two of these losses are the result of aircraft colliding with the ground while evading Iraqi ground fired weapons.<sup id="cite_ref-cnnstats_51-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> One of these losses is a confirmed air-air victory.</div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-49194708872928974942010-10-26T06:56:00.000-07:002010-10-26T07:02:30.175-07:00Desert Storm Tank Battles<div style="text-align: justify;"><p>The <b>Battle of 73 Easting</b> was a decisive tank battle fought on 26 February 1991, during the Gulf War, between American-British armored forces and those of the Iraqi Republican Guard. The battle took place several hours after the Battle of Al Busayyah. It was named for a UTM north-south coordinate line (an "Easting", measured in <span class="mw-redirect">kilometers</span> and readable on <span class="mw-redirect">GPS</span> receivers) in the featureless desert that was used as a phase line to measure progress of the offensive.</p> <p>The main U.S. unit in the battle was the <span class="mw-redirect">2nd</span> <span class="mw-redirect">Armored Cavalry Regiment</span> (2nd ACR), mainly a reconnaissance element of VII Corps. The corps's vanguard also included the American 3rd Armored Division (3rd AD) and 1st Infantry Division (1st ID), and the British 1st Armoured Division (1 AD).</p> <p>On the night of 23/24 February, in accordance with General Norman Schwarzkopf's plan for the ground assault called <b><span class="mw-redirect">Operation Desert Sabre</span></b>, VII Corps raced east from Saudi Arabia into Iraq in a maneuver later nicknamed the "Hail Mary." The Corps had two goals: to cut off Iraqi retreat from Kuwait, and to destroy five Republican Guard divisions near the Iraq-Kuwait border that might attack the Arab and Marine units moving into Kuwait to the south. Initial Iraqi resistance was light and ineffective and the 2nd ACR did not see much fighting until 25 February.</p><p style="font-weight: bold;">Watch the Video of Desert Storm Tank Battles (Battle of 73 Easting)</p><p><b><br /></b></p><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MlgPkOw9xO4?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MlgPkOw9xO4?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mSyG0zccGxs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mSyG0zccGxs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bPAPihuS1G4?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bPAPihuS1G4?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/R7A5KBlDPtY?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/R7A5KBlDPtY?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SC8-IexHIR8?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SC8-IexHIR8?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gOMwfSOCKms?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gOMwfSOCKms?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x402061&amp;color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-22875027187518753142010-10-14T03:05:00.000-07:002010-10-14T03:07:14.252-07:00Reasons and Campaign for Intervention<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TLbWRTdtQFI/AAAAAAAAAJs/KAktl39G_Lc/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TLbWRTdtQFI/AAAAAAAAAJs/KAktl39G_Lc/s320/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527841185414856786" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><p>The United States and the United Nations gave several public justifications for involvement in the conflict, the most prominent being the Iraqi violation of Kuwaiti territorial integrity. In addition, the United States moved to support its ally Saudi Arabia, whose importance in the region, and as a key supplier of oil, made it of considerable geopolitical importance. Shortly after the Iraqi invasion, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney made the first of several visits to Saudi Arabia where <span class="mw-redirect">King Fahd</span> requested US military assistance. During a speech in a special joint session of the U.S. Congress given on 11 September 1990, U.S. President George H.W. Bush summed up the reasons with the following remarks: <i>"Within three days, 120,000 Iraqi troops with 850 tanks had poured into Kuwait and moved south to threaten Saudi Arabia. It was then that I decided to act to check that aggression."</i><sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The Pentagon claimed that satellite photos showing a buildup of Iraqi forces along the border were the source of this information, but this was later shown to be false. A reporter for the <i>Saint Petersburg Times</i> acquired commercial satellite images made at the time in question, which showed nothing but empty desert.<sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Other justifications for foreign involvement included Iraq’s history of human rights abuses under President Saddam. Iraq was also known to possess biological weapons and chemical weapons, which Saddam had used against Iranian troops during the Iran–Iraq War and against his own country's Kurdish population in the Al-Anfal Campaign. Iraq was also known to have a nuclear weapons program.</p> <p>Although there were human rights abuses committed in Kuwait by the invading Iraqi military, the ones best known in the U.S. were inventions of the public relations firm hired by the government of Kuwait to influence U.S. opinion in favor of military intervention. Shortly after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, the organisation <i>Citizens for a Free Kuwait</i> was formed in the U.S. It hired the public relations firm Hill &amp; Knowlton for about $11 million, paid by the <span class="mw-redirect">Kuwaiti government</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Among many other means of influencing U.S. opinion (distributing books on Iraqi atrocities to U.S. soldiers deployed in the region, 'Free Kuwait' T-shirts and speakers to college campuses, and dozens of video news releases to television stations), the firm arranged for an appearance before a group of members of the U.S. Congress in which a woman identifying herself as a nurse working in the Kuwait City hospital described Iraqi soldiers pulling babies out of incubators and letting them die on the floor.</p> <p>The story was an influence in tipping both the public and Congress towards a war with Iraq: six Congressmen said the testimony was enough for them to support military action against Iraq and seven Senators referenced the testimony in debate. The Senate supported the military actions in a 52-47 vote. A year after the war, however, this allegation was revealed to be a fabrication. The woman who had testified was found to be a member of the Kuwaiti Royal Family, in fact the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the U.S.<sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> She had not been living in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion.</p> <p>The details of the Hill &amp; Knowlton public relations campaign, including the incubator testimony, were published in a John R. MacArthur's <i>Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the Gulf War</i> (Berkeley, CA: University of CA Press, 1992), and came to wide public attention when an Op-ed by MacArthur was published in the <i><span class="mw-redirect">New York Times</span></i>. This prompted a reexamination by Amnesty International, which had originally promoted an account alleging even greater numbers of babies torn from incubators than the original fake testimony. After finding no evidence to support it, the organization issued a retraction. President George H. W. Bush then repeated the incubator allegations on television.</p> At the same time, the Iraqi army committed several well-documented crimes during its occupation of Kuwait, such as the summary execution without trial of three brothers after which their bodies were stacked in a pile and left to decay in a public street.<sup id="cite_ref-54" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Iraqi troops also ransacked and looted private Kuwaiti homes, one residence was repeatedly defecated in.<sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> A resident later commented, "The whole thing was violence for the sake of violence, destruction for the sake of destruction... Imagine a <span class="mw-redirect">surrealistic</span> painting by Salvador Dalí".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Gulf_War#cite_note-56"><span></span></a></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-58464892845936790032010-10-14T03:03:00.000-07:002010-10-14T03:04:19.287-07:00Creating a Coalition<div style="text-align: justify;"><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Persian Gulf War</span>: A <span class="mw-redirect">series of UN Security Council resolutions</span> and Arab League resolutions were passed regarding the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. One of the most important was <span class="mw-redirect">Resolution 678</span>, passed on 29 November 1990, which gave Iraq a withdrawal deadline until 15 January 1991, and authorized “all necessary means to uphold and implement Resolution 660,” and a diplomatic formulation authorizing the use of force if Iraq failed to comply.<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The United States assembled a coalition of forces to join it in opposing Iraq's aggression, consisting of forces from 34 countries: Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Kuwait, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Spain, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States itself.<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Although they did not contribute any forces, Japan and Germany made financial contributions totaling $10 billion and $6.6 billion respectively. U.S. troops represented 73% of the coalition’s 956,600 troops in Iraq.</p> Many of the coalition forces were reluctant to join. Some felt that the war was an internal Arab affair, or did not want to increase U.S. influence in the Middle East. In the end, however, many nations were persuaded by Iraq’s belligerence towards other Arab states, offers of economic aid or debt forgiveness, and threats to withhold aid.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Gulf_War#cite_note-49"><span></span></a></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-77850232890920462092010-10-07T22:07:00.000-07:002010-10-07T22:10:09.244-07:00Operation Desert Shield<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TK6nqQzU74I/AAAAAAAAAIk/c_FVk06vsOw/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TK6nqQzU74I/AAAAAAAAAIk/c_FVk06vsOw/s320/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525538137336770434" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><p>One of the main concerns of the west was the significant threat Iraq posed to Saudi Arabia. Following the conquest of Kuwait, the Iraqi army was within easy striking distance of Saudi oil fields. Control of these fields, along with Kuwaiti and Iraqi reserves, would have given Hussein control over the majority of the world's oil reserves. Iraq also had a number of grievances with Saudi Arabia. The Saudis had lent Iraq some 26 billion dollars during its war with Iran. The Saudis backed Iraq, as they feared the influence of <span class="mw-redirect">Shia</span> Iran's <span class="mw-redirect">Islamic revolution</span> on its own Shia minority (most of the Saudi oil fields are in territory populated by Shias). After the war, Saddam felt he should not have to repay the loans due to the help he had given the Saudis by stopping Iran.</p> <p>Soon after his conquest of Kuwait, Hussein began verbally attacking the Saudi kingdom. He argued that the U.S.-supported Saudi state was an illegitimate and unworthy guardian of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. He combined the language of the <span class="mw-redirect">Islamist</span> groups that had recently fought in Afghanistan with the rhetoric Iran had long used to attack the Saudis.<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Acting on the policy of the Carter Doctrine, and out of fear the Iraqi army could launch an invasion of Saudi Arabia, U.S. President George H. W. Bush quickly announced that the U.S. would launch a "wholly defensive" mission to prevent Iraq from invading Saudi Arabia under the codename <b>Operation Desert Shield</b>. Operation Desert Shield began on 7 August 1990 when U.S. troops were sent to Saudi Arabia due also to the request of its monarch, <span class="mw-redirect">King Fahd</span>, who had earlier called for U.S. military assistance.<sup id="cite_ref-AFPS_Timeline_45-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> This "wholly defensive" doctrine was quickly abandoned when, on 8 August, Iraq declared Kuwait to be the 19th province of Iraq and Saddam Hussein named his cousin, Ali Hassan Al-Majid as its military-governor.<sup id="cite_ref-AFPS15years_46-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The United States Navy mobilized two naval battle groups, the <span class="mw-redirect">aircraft carriers</span> USS <i>Dwight D. Eisenhower</i>, USS <i>Independence</i> and their escorts, to the area, where they were ready by 8 August. A total of 48 U.S. Air Force F-15s from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, landed in Saudi Arabia, and immediately commenced round the clock air patrols of the Saudi–Kuwait–Iraq border areas to discourage further Iraqi military advances. They were joined by 36 F-15 A-Ds from the 36th TFW at Bitburg, Germany. The Bitburg contingent was based at Al Kharj Air Base, approximately 1 hour southeast of Riyadh. The 36th TFW were responsbile for 11 confirmed Iraqi Air Force aircraft shot down during the war. The U.S. also sent the battleships USS <i>Missouri</i> and USS <i>Wisconsin</i> to the region. Military buildup continued from there, eventually reaching 543,000 troops, twice the number used in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Much of the material was airlifted or carried to the staging areas via <span class="mw-redirect">fast sealift ships</span>, allowing a quick buildup.</p></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-24875759939030798652010-09-28T00:10:00.000-07:002010-09-28T00:11:44.135-07:00UN Diplomacy<div style="text-align: justify;"><p>On November 29, 1990 the U.N. passed security council resolution 678 which gave Iraq until 15 January 1991 to withdraw from Kuwait and empowered states to use "all necessary means" to force Iraq out of Kuwait after the deadline.</p> On 14 January 1991, France proposed that the U.N. Security Council call for "a rapid and massive withdrawal" from Kuwait along with a statement to Iraq that Council members would bring their "active contribution" to a settlement of other problems of the region, "in particular, of the Arab-Israeli conflict and in particular to the Palestinian problem by convening, at an appropriate moment, an international conference" to assure "the security, stability and development of this region of the world." The French proposal was supported by Belgium (at the moment one of the rotating Security Council members), and Germany, Spain, Italy, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and several non-aligned nations. The U.S. and Britain rejected it (along with the Soviet Union, irrelevantly). American U.N. Ambassador Thomas Pickering stated that the French proposal was unacceptable, because it went beyond previous U.N. Security Council resolutions on the Iraqi invasion.</div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-12847574505192521872010-09-26T15:06:00.000-07:002010-09-26T15:09:34.896-07:00Iraqi-American Diplomacy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TJ_El-dHpMI/AAAAAAAAAGw/MUK3Sg557dI/s1600/a.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TJ_El-dHpMI/AAAAAAAAAGw/MUK3Sg557dI/s320/a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521347824878855362" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><p>From the beginning, U.S. officials insisted on a total Iraqi pullout from Kuwait, without any linkage to other Middle Eastern problems, fearing any concessions would strengthen Iraqi influence in the region for years to come.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>On 12 August 1990, Saddam Hussein proposed a settlement linking Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait to an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza strip, occupied by Israel since 1967.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Syria from Lebanon, and Israel from the territories it conquered in 1967.<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Another Iraqi proposal communicated in August 1990 offered to withdraw from Kuwait and allow foreigners to leave in return for the lifting of sanctions, guaranteed access to the Persian Gulf through the Kuwaiti islands of Bubiyan and Warbah and full control of the Rumailah oilfield that extended slightly into Kuwaiti territory from Iraq.<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><span></span></sup></p> <p>Other terms of the proposal, according to memoranda that Royce quotes, were that Iraq and the U.S. negotiate an oil agreement "satisfactory to both nations' national security interests," "jointly work on the stability of the gulf," and develop a joint plan "to alleviate Iraq's economical and financial problems."<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> There was no mention of U.S. withdrawal from Saudi Arabia, or other preconditions. A Bush administration official who specializes in Mideast affairs described the proposal as "serious" and "negotiable."<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><span></span></sup></p> <p>In late December 1990, Iraq made another proposal, disclosed by U.S. officials on 2 January 1991: an offer "to withdraw from Kuwait if the United States pledges not to attack as soldiers are pulled out, if foreign troops leave the region, and if there is an agreement on the Palestinian problem and on the banning of all weapons of mass destruction in the region."<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Officials described the offer as "interesting," because it dropped the border issues and "signals Iraqi interest in a negotiated settlement."<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> A State Department Mideast expert described the proposal as a "serious pre-negotiation position.<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The White House rejected the proposal because it contained preconditions for a pull out, added to the fact that Israel would be unlikely to give up its nuclear program.</p> However, when Secretary of State James Baker met with Tariq Aziz in Geneva for last minute peace talks in early 1991, Aziz reportedly made no concrete proposals and did not outline any hypothetical Iraqi moves.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Gulf_War#cite_note-40"><span></span></a></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-7158893550872333352010-09-22T14:50:00.000-07:002010-09-22T15:04:36.059-07:00Persian Gulf War Videos Footage<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Persian Gulf War Videos Footage,</span> <b>First Gulf War Videos Footage, Operation Desert Storm Footage Part 1<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bleWRYGg6f8?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bleWRYGg6f8?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /></b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Persian Gulf War Videos Footage,</span> <b>First Gulf War Videos Footage, Operation Desert Storm Footage Part 2<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xQU0k9r9UCc?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xQU0k9r9UCc?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /></b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Persian Gulf War Videos Footage,</span> <b>First Gulf War Videos Footage, Operation Desert Storm Footage Part 3<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/h6agUdWMvIs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/h6agUdWMvIs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /></b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Persian Gulf War Videos Footage,</span> <b>First Gulf War Videos Footage, Operation Desert Storm Footage Part 4<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/K5-m9Sn3834?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/K5-m9Sn3834?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /></b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Persian Gulf War Videos Footage,</span> <b>First Gulf War Videos Footage, Operation Desert Storm Footage Part 5</b><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SnDEsp3SYNs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SnDEsp3SYNs?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;color1=0x006699&amp;color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-34710660707212443762010-09-22T14:43:00.000-07:002010-09-22T14:48:42.724-07:00UN Resolution for Iraqi troops in Kuwait<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TJp5sxhbUDI/AAAAAAAAAGA/yzHBIF9HW-8/s1600/a.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 294px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TJp5sxhbUDI/AAAAAAAAAGA/yzHBIF9HW-8/s320/a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519858103410708530" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><p><b>United Nations Security Council Resolution 660</b>, adopted on August 2, 1990, after noting its alarm of the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, the Council condemned the invasion and demanded Iraq withdraw immediately and unconditionally to positions as they were on August 1, 1990.</p> <p>Yemen called upon Iraq and Kuwait to enter into immediate negotiations to resolve their differences, thanking the Arab League for its efforts.<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Talks between both sides broke down the day before in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The Council also decided to meet again as necessary to ensure compliance with the current resolution.</p> <p>The resolution was adopted by 14 votes to none, while Yemen did not participate in voting. It was the first of twelve resolutions on the conflict passed in 1990.</p><p>In <b>United Nations Security Council Resolution 661</b>, adopted on August 6, 1990, reaffirming Resolution 660 (1990) and noting Iraq's refusal to comply with it and Kuwait's <span class="mw-redirect">right of self-defence</span>, the Council took steps to implement international sanctions on Iraq under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. This was the second resolution by the Security Council over the invasion of Kuwait.</p> <p>The Council therefore decided that states should prevent:</p> <dl><dd>(a) the import of all products and commodities originating in Iraq or Kuwait;</dd><dd>(b) any activities by their nationals or in their territories that would promote the export of products originating in Iraq or Kuwait, as well as the transfer of funds to either country for the purposes of such activities;</dd><dd>(c) the sale of weapons or other military equipment to Iraq and Kuwait, excluding humanitarian aid;</dd><dd>(d) the availability of funds or other financial or economic resources to either country, or to any commercial, industrial or public utility operating within them, except for medical or humanitarian purposes.</dd></dl> <p>Resolution 661 called on all member states, including non-members of the United Nations, to act strictly in accordance with the resolution, and decided to establish a Committee of the Security Council consisting of all members of the Council, to examine reports by the Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar on the situation and seek information from states on the action they are taking to implement Resolution 661, requesting they all co-operate with the Committee.</p> <p>Finally, the Council stressed that the sanctions regime imposed should not affect assistance given to the legitimate Government of Kuwait. The resolution was adopted by 13 votes to none, while Cuba and Yemen abstained from voting.</p> After the end of the Gulf War and the Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait, the sanctions were linked to removal of weapons of mass destruction by Resolution 687 (1991). The effects of government policy and the sanctions regime led to hyperinflation, widespread poverty and malnutrition.<br /><br /><p><b>United Nations Security Council Resolution 665</b>, adopted on August 25, 1990, after demanding the full and immediate implementation of resolutions 660, 661, 662 and 664, the Council authorised a naval blockade to enforce the embargo against Iraq, in the aftermath of its invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990.</p> <p>On 6 August 1990, after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the Security Council adopted Resolution 661 (1990) which imposed economic sanctions on Iraq, providing for a full <span class="mw-redirect">trade embargo</span>, excluding medical supplies, food and other items of humanitarian necessity, these to be determined by the Security Council sanctions committee. After authorising the naval blockade, the Council invited Member States to co-operate with one another, and with the Military Staff Committee, to ensure compliance with the provisions of Resolution 661 (1990). It also requested the Secretary-General to report back to the Council on developments in the situation.</p> Resolution 665 was adopted by 13 votes to none, with two abstentions from Cuba and Yemen. It avoided invoking the authority and purview of the Council under Article 42, Chapter VII, which would make the blockade legally enforceable.<br /></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-74539470285330661382010-09-22T14:11:00.000-07:002010-09-22T14:29:06.009-07:00Diplomacy Before The Gulf War<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TJp1E7pbTXI/AAAAAAAAAF4/kw4TYbEbKBM/s1600/a.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TJp1E7pbTXI/AAAAAAAAAF4/kw4TYbEbKBM/s320/a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519853020887338354" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><h3><span class="mw-headline" id="UN_resolution">UN resolution condemning the invasion and demanding a withdrawal of Iraqi troops<br /></span></h3> <p>Within hours of the invasion, Kuwaiti and U.S. delegations requested a meeting of the <span class="mw-redirect">UN Security Council</span>, which passed Resolution 660, condemning the invasion and demanding a withdrawal of Iraqi troops. On 3 August the Arab League passed its own resolution, which called for a solution to the conflict from within the League, and warned against outside intervention. On 6 August <span class="mw-redirect">UN Resolution 661</span> placed <span class="new">economic sanctions on Iraq</span>.</p> <p>United Nations Security Council Resolution 665 followed soon after, which authorized a naval blockade to enforce the economic sanctions against Iraq. It said the “use of measures commensurate to the specific circumstances as may be necessary to halt all inward and outward maritime shipping in order to inspect and verify their cargoes and destinations and to ensure strict implementation of resolution 661.”</p><h3><span><span class="mw-headline" id="UN_resolution"></span></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Iraqi-American_diplomacy">Iraqi-American diplomacy</span><br /></h3>From the beginning, U.S. officials insisted on a total Iraqi pullout from Kuwait, without any linkage to other Middle Eastern problems, fearing any concessions would strengthen Iraqi influence in the region for years to come. <p>On 12 August 1990, Saddam Hussein proposed a settlement linking Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait to an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza strip, occupied by Israel since 1967.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Syria from Lebanon, and Israel from the territories it conquered in 1967.<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Another Iraqi proposal communicated in August 1990 offered to withdraw from Kuwait and allow foreigners to leave in return for the lifting of sanctions, guaranteed access to the Persian Gulf through the Kuwaiti islands of Bubiyan and Warbah and full control of the Rumailah oilfield that extended slightly into Kuwaiti territory from Iraq.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><span></span></sup></p> <p>Other terms of the proposal, according to memoranda that Royce quotes, were that Iraq and the U.S. negotiate an oil agreement "satisfactory to both nations' national security interests," "jointly work on the stability of the gulf," and develop a joint plan "to alleviate Iraq's economical and financial problems."<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> There was no mention of U.S. withdrawal from Saudi Arabia, or other preconditions. A Bush administration official who specializes in Mideast affairs described the proposal as "serious" and "negotiable."<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><span></span></sup></p> <p>In late December 1990, Iraq made another proposal, disclosed by U.S. officials on 2 January 1991: an offer "to withdraw from Kuwait if the United States pledges not to attack as soldiers are pulled out, if foreign troops leave the region, and if there is an agreement on the Palestinian problem and on the banning of all weapons of mass destruction in the region."<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Officials described the offer as "interesting," because it dropped the border issues and "signals Iraqi interest in a negotiated settlement."<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><span></span></sup> A State Department Mideast expert described the proposal as a "serious pre-negotiation position.<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><span></span></sup> The White House rejected the proposal because it contained preconditions for a pull out, added to the fact that Israel would be unlikely to give up it's nuclear program.</p> <p>However, when Secretary of State James Baker met with Tariq Aziz in Geneva for last minute peace talks in early 1991, Aziz reportedly made no concrete proposals and did not outline any hypothetical Iraqi moves.<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><span></span></sup></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="UN_Diplomacy">UN Diplomacy</span></h3> <p>On November 29, 1990 the U.N. passed security council resolution 678 which gave Iraq until 15 January 1991 to withdraw from Kuwait and empowered states to use "all necessary means" to force Iraq out of Kuwait after the deadline.</p> <p>On 14 January 1991, France proposed that the U.N. Security Council call for "a rapid and massive withdrawal" from Kuwait along with a statement to Iraq that Council members would bring their "active contribution" to a settlement of other problems of the region, "in particular, of the Arab-Israeli conflict and in particular to the Palestinian problem by convening, at an appropriate moment, an international conference" to assure "the security, stability and development of this region of the world." The French proposal was supported by Belgium (at the moment one of the rotating Security Council members), and Germany, Spain, Italy, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and several non-aligned nations. The U.S. and Britain rejected it (along with the Soviet Union, irrelevantly). American U.N. Ambassador Thomas Pickering stated that the French proposal was unacceptable, because it went beyond previous U.N. Security Council resolutions on the Iraqi invasion.<sup id="cite_ref-41" class="reference"><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><span></span></sup></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Operation_Desert_Shield">Operation Desert Shield</span></h3> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TJpzoC1TUWI/AAAAAAAAAFo/D4J86nJhjkM/s1600/a.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TJpzoC1TUWI/AAAAAAAAAFo/D4J86nJhjkM/s320/a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519851425088360802" border="0" /></a>One of the main concerns of the west was the significant threat Iraq posed to Saudi Arabia. Following the conquest of Kuwait, the Iraqi army was within easy striking distance of Saudi oil fields. Control of these fields, along with Kuwaiti and Iraqi reserves, would have given Hussein control over the majority of the world's oil reserves. Iraq also had a number of grievances with Saudi Arabia. The Saudis had lent Iraq some 26 billion dollars during its war with Iran. The Saudis backed Iraq, as they feared the influence of <span class="mw-redirect">Shia</span> Iran's <span class="mw-redirect">Islamic revolution</span> on its own Shia minority (most of the Saudi oil fields are in territory populated by Shias). After the war, Saddam felt he should not have to repay the loans due to the help he had given the Saudis by stopping Iran.</p> <p>Soon after his conquest of Kuwait, Hussein began verbally attacking the Saudi kingdom. He argued that the U.S.-supported Saudi state was an illegitimate and unworthy guardian of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. He combined the language of the <span class="mw-redirect">Islamist</span> groups that had recently fought in Afghanistan with the rhetoric Iran had long used to attack the Saudis.<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Acting on the policy of the Carter Doctrine, and out of fear the Iraqi army could launch an invasion of Saudi Arabia, U.S. President George H. W. Bush quickly announced that the U.S. would launch a "wholly defensive" mission to prevent Iraq from invading Saudi Arabia under the codename <b>Operation Desert Shield</b>. Operation Desert Shield began on 7 August 1990 when U.S. troops were sent to Saudi Arabia due also to the request of its monarch, <span class="mw-redirect">King Fahd</span>, who had earlier called for U.S. military assistance.<sup id="cite_ref-AFPS_Timeline_45-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> This "wholly defensive" doctrine was quickly abandoned when, on 8 August, Iraq declared Kuwait to be the 19th province of Iraq and Saddam Hussein named his cousin, Ali Hassan Al-Majid as its military-governor.<sup id="cite_ref-AFPS15years_46-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The United States Navy mobilized two naval battle groups, the <span class="mw-redirect">aircraft carriers</span> USS <i>Dwight D. Eisenhower</i>, USS <i>Independence</i> and their escorts, to the area, where they were ready by 8 August. A total of 48 U.S. Air Force F-15s from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, landed in Saudi Arabia, and immediately commenced round the clock air patrols of the Saudi–Kuwait–Iraq border areas to discourage further Iraqi military advances. They were joined by 36 F-15 A-Ds from the 36th TFW at Bitburg, Germany. The Bitburg contingent was based at Al Kharj Air Base, approximately 1 hour southeast of Riyadh. The 36th TFW were responsbile for 11 confirmed Iraqi Air Force "kills" during the war. The U.S. also sent the battleships USS <i>Missouri</i> and USS <i>Wisconsin</i> to the region. Military buildup continued from there, eventually reaching 543,000 troops, twice the number used in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Much of the material was airlifted or carried to the staging areas via <span class="mw-redirect">fast sealift ships</span>, allowing a quick buildup.</p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Creating_a_coalition">Creating a coalition</span></h3> <p>A <span class="mw-redirect">series of UN Security Council resolutions</span> and Arab League resolutions were passed regarding the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. One of the most important was <span class="mw-redirect">Resolution 678</span>, passed on 29 November 1990, which gave Iraq a withdrawal deadline until 15 January 1991, and authorized “all necessary means to uphold and implement Resolution 660,” and a diplomatic formulation authorizing the use of force if Iraq failed to comply.<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The United States assembled a coalition of forces to join it in opposing Iraq's aggression, consisting of forces from 34 countries: Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Kuwait, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Spain, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States itself.<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Although they did not contribute any forces, Japan and Germany made financial contributions totaling $10 billion and $6.6 billion respectively. U.S. troops represented 73% of the coalition’s 956,600 troops in Iraq.</p> <p>Many of the coalition forces were reluctant to join. Some felt that the war was an internal Arab affair, or did not want to increase U.S. influence in the Middle East. In the end, however, many nations were persuaded by Iraq’s belligerence towards other Arab states, offers of economic aid or debt forgiveness, and threats to withhold aid.<sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Reasons_and_campaign_for_intervention">Reasons and campaign for intervention</span></h3> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TJpzaeXSfSI/AAAAAAAAAFg/qtTkNpdKy10/s1600/a.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TJpzaeXSfSI/AAAAAAAAAFg/qtTkNpdKy10/s320/a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519851191960501538" border="0" /></a>The United States and the United Nations gave several public justifications for involvement in the conflict, the most prominent being the Iraqi violation of Kuwaiti territorial integrity. In addition, the United States moved to support its ally Saudi Arabia, whose importance in the region, and as a key supplier of oil, made it of considerable geopolitical importance. Shortly after the Iraqi invasion, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney made the first of several visits to Saudi Arabia where <span class="mw-redirect">King Fahd</span> requested US military assistance. During a speech in a special joint session of the U.S. Congress given on 11 September 1990, U.S. President George H.W. Bush summed up the reasons with the following remarks: <i>"Within three days, 120,000 Iraqi troops with 850 tanks had poured into Kuwait and moved south to threaten Saudi Arabia. It was then that I decided to act to check that aggression."</i></p> <p>The Pentagon claimed that satellite photos showing a buildup of Iraqi forces along the border were the source of this information, but this was later shown to be false. A reporter for the <i>Saint Petersburg Times</i> acquired commercial satellite images made at the time in question, which showed nothing but empty desert.<sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Other justifications for foreign involvement included Iraq’s history of human rights abuses under President Saddam. Iraq was also known to possess biological weapons and chemical weapons, which Saddam had used against Iranian troops during the Iran–Iraq War and against his own country's Kurdish population in the Al-Anfal Campaign. Iraq was also known to have a nuclear weapons program.</p> <p>Although there were human rights abuses committed in Kuwait by the invading Iraqi military, the ones best known in the U.S. were inventions of the public relations firm hired by the government of Kuwait to influence U.S. opinion in favor of military intervention. Shortly after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, the organisation <i>Citizens for a Free Kuwait</i> was formed in the U.S. It hired the public relations firm Hill &amp; Knowlton for about $11 million, paid by the <span class="mw-redirect">Kuwaiti government</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Among many other means of influencing U.S. opinion (distributing books on Iraqi atrocities to U.S. soldiers deployed in the region, 'Free Kuwait' T-shirts and speakers to college campuses, and dozens of video news releases to television stations), the firm arranged for an appearance before a group of members of the U.S. Congress in which a woman identifying herself as a nurse working in the Kuwait City hospital described Iraqi soldiers pulling babies out of incubators and letting them die on the floor.</p> <p>The story was an influence in tipping both the public and Congress towards a war with Iraq: six Congressmen said the testimony was enough for them to support military action against Iraq and seven Senators referenced the testimony in debate. The Senate supported the military actions in a 52-47 vote. A year after the war, however, this allegation was revealed to be a fabrication. The woman who had testified was found to be a member of the Kuwaiti Royal Family, in fact the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the U.S.<sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> She had not been living in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion.</p> <p>The details of the Hill &amp; Knowlton public relations campaign, including the incubator testimony, were published in a John R. MacArthur's <i>Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the Gulf War</i> (Berkeley, CA: University of CA Press, 1992), and came to wide public attention when an Op-ed by MacArthur was published in the <i><span class="mw-redirect">New York Times</span></i>. This prompted a reexamination by Amnesty International, which had originally promoted an account alleging even greater numbers of babies torn from incubators than the original fake testimony. After finding no evidence to support it, the organization issued a retraction. President George H. W. Bush then repeated the incubator allegations on television.</p> <p>At the same time, the Iraqi army committed several well-documented crimes during its occupation of Kuwait, such as the summary execution without trial of three brothers after which their bodies were stacked in a pile and left to decay in a public street.<sup id="cite_ref-54" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Iraqi troops also ransacked and looted private Kuwaiti homes, one residence was repeatedly defecated in.<sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> A resident later commented, "The whole thing was violence for the sake of violence, destruction for the sake of destruction... Imagine a <span class="mw-redirect">surrealistic</span> painting by Salvador Dalí".</p></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-14070336181526412022010-09-12T12:11:00.000-07:002010-09-22T14:30:43.163-07:00Iraq Invasion of Kuwait (Iraq-Kuwait War)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TI0nqXQql1I/AAAAAAAAAD0/vZGTYQnyKnc/s1600/a.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 237px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TI0nqXQql1I/AAAAAAAAAD0/vZGTYQnyKnc/s320/a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516108727350630226" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><p>The <b>Iraq Invasion of Kuwait</b>, also known as the <b>Iraq-Kuwait War</b>, was a major conflict between the <span class="mw-redirect">Republic of Iraq</span> and the <span class="mw-redirect">State of Kuwait</span>, which resulted in the seven-month long Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, which subsequently led to direct military intervention by United States-led forces in the Gulf War.</p> <p>In 1990, Iraq accused Kuwait of stealing Iraqi oil through <span class="mw-redirect">slant drilling</span>, however some Iraqi sources indicated Saddam Hussein’s decision to attack Kuwait was made only a few months before the actual invasion<sup id="cite_ref-fawcett_6-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> suggesting that the regime was under feelings of severe time pressure. Some feel there were several reasons for the Iraq move, including that Iraq could not repay the more than $80 billion that had been borrowed to finance the war with Iran and also Kuwaiti overproduction of oil which kept oil revenues down for Iraq. <sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> The invasion started on August 2, 1990, and within two days of intense combat, most of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces were either overrun by the <span class="mw-redirect">Iraqi Republican Guard</span> or escaped to neighboring Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The state of Kuwait was abolished, and Saddam announced in a few days that it was the 19th province of Iraq.</p><p>On 2 August 1990 Iraq launched the invasion by bombing Kuwait City, the Kuwaiti capital. In spite of Iraqi <span class="mw-redirect">saber-rattling</span>, Kuwait did not have its forces on alert, and was caught unaware. Iraqi commandos infiltrated the Kuwaiti border first to prepare for the major units which began the attack at the stroke of midnight. The Iraqi attack had two prongs, with the primary attack force driving south straight for Kuwait City down the main highway, and a supporting attack entering Kuwait farther west, but then turning and driving due east, cutting off the capital city from the southern half of the country. The commander of a Kuwaiti armored battalion, 35th Armoured Brigade, deployed them against the Iraqi attack and was able to conduct a robust defense near Al Jahra (see The Battle of the Bridges), west of Kuwait City.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>Kuwait Air Force aircraft scrambled to meet the invading force, but approximately 20% were lost or captured. An air battle with the Iraqi helicopter airborne forces was fought over Kuwait City, inflicting heavy losses on the Iraqi elite troops, and a few combat sorties were flown against Iraqi ground forces.<sup id="cite_ref-airCombatInformationGroup_23-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The main Iraqi thrust into Kuwait City was conducted by commandos deployed by helicopters and boats to attack the city from the sea, while other divisions seized the <span class="mw-redirect">airports</span> and two <span class="mw-redirect">airbases</span>. The Iraqi's assaulted the <span class="new">Dasman Palace</span>, the Royal Residence of the <span class="mw-redirect">Emir of Kuwait</span>, Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, which was defended by the Emiri Guard supported with M84 tanks. In the process, the Iraqis killed Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the <span class="mw-redirect">Emir of Kuwait</span>'s youngest brother.<sup id="cite_ref-cns.miis.edu_24-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>After two days of intense combat, most of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces were either overrun by the <span class="mw-redirect">Iraqi Republican Guard</span>, or had escaped to neighboring Saudi Arabia. The emir and key ministers were able to get out and head south along the highway for refuge in Saudi Arabia. Iraqi ground forces consolidated their control on Kuwait City, then headed south and redeployed along the border of Saudi Arabia. After the decisive Iraqi victory, Saddam Hussein installed his cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid (Chemical Ali) as the governor of Kuwait.<sup id="cite_ref-cns.miis.edu_24-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p><span id="Stuart_Lockwood"></span></p> On 23 August 1990 President Saddam appeared on state television with Western hostages to whom he had refused exit visas. In the video, he patted a small British boy named Stuart Lockwood on the back. Saddam then asks, through his interpreter, Sadoun al-Zubaydi, whether Stuart is getting his milk. Saddam went on to say, "We hope your presence as guests here will not be for too long. Your presence here, and in other places, is meant to prevent the scourge of war."<br /><br /><table class="infobox vevent" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: left; font-size: 90%;"><tbody><tr><th class="summary" colspan="2" style="background-color: rgb(176, 196, 222); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">Invasion of Kuwait</th> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="background-color: rgb(176, 196, 222); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">Part of the Gulf War</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <table class="infobox" style="width: 100%; margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; border: 0pt none;"> <tbody><tr> <th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th> <td>2–4 August 1990</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th> <td><span class="location">Kuwait</span></td> </tr> <tr> <th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th> <td>Iraqi victory; Iraqi-backed government installed; Beginning of the Kuwaiti resistance movement;<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Iraqi occupation of Kuwait triggering the Persian Gulf War.</td> </tr> <tr> <th style="padding-right: 1em;">Territorial<br />changes</th> <td>Iraq-Kuwait border abolished; temporary Annexation as the 19th province of Iraq (unrecognized by the UN).</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2" style="background-color: rgb(176, 196, 222); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">Belligerents</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; border-right: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170);"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Iraq" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Flag_of_Iraq_%281963-1991%29.svg/22px-Flag_of_Iraq_%281963-1991%29.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /></span> Iraq</td> <td style="width: 50%; padding-left: 0.25em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Kuwait" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Flag_of_Kuwait.svg/22px-Flag_of_Kuwait.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="11" /></span> Kuwait</td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2" style="background-color: rgb(176, 196, 222); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">Commanders and leaders</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; border-right: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170);"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Iraq" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Flag_of_Iraq_%281963-1991%29.svg/22px-Flag_of_Iraq_%281963-1991%29.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /></span> Saddam Hussein<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Iraq" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Flag_of_Iraq_%281963-1991%29.svg/22px-Flag_of_Iraq_%281963-1991%29.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /></span> Ali Hassan al-Majid</td> <td style="width: 50%; padding-left: 0.25em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Kuwait" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Flag_of_Kuwait.svg/22px-Flag_of_Kuwait.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="11" /></span> Jaber III</td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2" style="background-color: rgb(176, 196, 222); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">Strength</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; border-right: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170);">100,000+<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></td> <td style="width: 50%; padding-left: 0.25em;">16,000<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2" style="background-color: rgb(176, 196, 222); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">Casualties and losses</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; border-right: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170);">37+ aircraft (est.).<br />Other losses N/A</td> <td style="width: 50%; padding-left: 0.25em;">20 aircraft lost,<br />200 KIA,<sup id="cite_ref-airCombatInformationGroup_4-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup><br />600 <span class="mw-redirect">POWs</span><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-1339770239310371282010-09-07T08:14:00.000-07:002010-09-22T14:30:20.335-07:00Causes of Iraq Invasion of Kuwait<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TIZYUf_a7bI/AAAAAAAAACk/1o3k-yHnTFI/s1600/b.gif"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 297px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TIZYUf_a7bI/AAAAAAAAACk/1o3k-yHnTFI/s320/b.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514191902969884082" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><p>Throughout much of the Cold War, Iraq had been an ally of the Soviet Union, and there was a history of friction between it and the United States. The U.S. was concerned with Iraq's position on Israeli–<span class="mw-redirect">Palestinian</span> politics, and its disapproval of the nature of the peace between Israel and Egypt.</p> <p>The United States also disliked Iraqi support for various <span class="mw-redirect">Arab</span> and <span class="mw-redirect">Palestinian militant</span> groups such as Abu Nidal, which led to its inclusion on the developing U.S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism on 29 December 1979. The U.S. remained officially neutral after the invasion of Iran, which became the Iran–Iraq War, although it assisted Iraq covertly. In March 1982, however, Iran began a successful counteroffensive - Operation Undeniable Victory, and the United States increased its support for Iraq to prevent Iran from forcing a surrender.</p> <p>In a U.S. bid to open full diplomatic relations with Iraq, the country was removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. Ostensibly this was because of improvement in the regime’s record, although former United States Assistant Secretary of Defense Noel Koch later stated, "No one had any doubts about [the Iraqis'] continued involvement in terrorism. The real reason was to help them succeed in the war against Iran."<sup id="cite_ref-Borer_17-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>With Iraq's new found success in the war, and the Iranian rebuff of a peace offer in July, arms sales to Iraq reached a record spike in 1982. An obstacle, however, remained to any potential U.S.-Iraqi relationship - Abu Nidal continued to operate with official support in Baghdad. When Iraqi President Saddam Hussein expelled the group to Syria at the United States' request in November 1983, the <span class="mw-redirect">Reagan administration</span> sent Donald Rumsfeld to meet President Hussein as a special envoy and to cultivate ties.</p> <h3><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Tensions_with_Kuwait">Tensions between Iraq-Kuwait</span></h3> <p>By the time the <span class="mw-redirect">ceasefire with Iran</span> was signed in August 1988, Iraq was virtually bankrupt, with most of its debt owed to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Iraq pressured both nations to forgive the debts, but they refused. Iraq also accused Kuwait of exceeding its OPEC quotas and driving down the price of oil, thus further hurting the Iraqi economy.</p> <p>The collapse in oil prices had a catastrophic impact on the Iraqi economy. The Iraqi Government described it as a form of economic warfare, which it claimed was aggravated by Kuwait slant-drilling across the border into Iraq's Rumaila oil field.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The Iraq-Kuwait dispute also involved Iraqi claims to Kuwait as a territory of Iraq. After gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1932, the Iraqi government immediately declared that Kuwait was rightfully a territory of Iraq, as it had been an Iraqi territory for centuries until the British creation of Kuwait after World War I and thus stated that Kuwait was a British imperialist invention.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> Iraq claimed Kuwait had been a part of the Ottoman Empire's <span class="mw-redirect">province of Basra</span>. Its ruling dynasty, the <span class="mw-redirect">al-Sabah family</span>, had concluded a protectorate agreement in 1899 that assigned responsibility for its foreign affairs to Britain. Britain drew the border between the two countries, and deliberately tried to limit Iraq's access to the ocean so that any future Iraqi government would be in no position to threaten Britain's domination of the Persian Gulf. Iraq refused to accept the border, and did not recognize the Kuwaiti government until 1963.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> In early July 1990, Iraq complained about Kuwait's behavior, such as not respecting their quota, and openly threatened to take military action. On the 23rd, the CIA reported that Iraq had moved 30,000 troops to the Iraq-Kuwait border, and the U.S. naval fleet in the Persian Gulf was placed on alert. On the 25th, Saddam Hussein met with April Glaspie, an American ambassador, in Baghdad. According to an Iraqi transcript of that meeting, Glaspie told the Iraqi delegation, "We have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts." On the 31st, negotiations between Iraq and Kuwait in Jeddah failed violently</div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1143189326648434155.post-83664485936082525332010-09-05T15:37:00.000-07:002010-09-22T14:29:42.337-07:00First Gulf War 1990-1991<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TIZZHyqeYBI/AAAAAAAAACs/7TId6QVGNR8/s1600/a.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 261px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_fteYlU0pw4o/TIZZHyqeYBI/AAAAAAAAACs/7TId6QVGNR8/s320/a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514192784155631634" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><p>The <b>Persian Gulf War</b> (August 2, 1990 – February 28, 1991), commonly referred to as simply the <b>Gulf War 1990-1991</b>, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized <span class="mw-redirect">coalition force</span> from thirty-four nations led by the United States against Iraq.</p> <p>This war has also been referred to (by the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein) as <b>the mother of all Battles</b>,<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> and is commonly known as <b>Operation Desert Storm</b> for the operational name of the military response,<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup> the <b>First Gulf War,</b> or the Iraq War.<sup id="cite_ref-FrontlineCron_13-0" class="reference"><span></span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-cfr.org_15-0" class="reference"><span></span></sup></p> <p>The invasion of Kuwait by <span class="mw-redirect">Iraqi troops</span> that began 2 August 1990 was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the <span class="mw-redirect">UN Security Council</span>. U.S. President George H. W. Bush deployed American forces to Saudi Arabia almost 6 months afterwards, and urged other countries to send their own forces to the scene. An array of nations joined the Coalition of the Gulf War. The great majority of the military forces in the coalition were from the United States, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Egypt as leading contributors, in that order. Around US$40 billion of the US$60 billion cost was paid by Saudi Arabia.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p> <p>The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial bombardment on 16 January 1991. This was followed by a ground assault on 23 February. This was a decisive victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait and advanced into Iraqi territory. The coalition ceased their advance, and declared a cease-fire 100 hours after the ground campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and areas on the border of Saudi Arabia. However, Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel.</p><table class="infobox vevent" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: left; font-size: 90%;"><tbody><tr><th class="summary" colspan="2" style="background-color: rgb(176, 196, 222); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">Persian Gulf War</th> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.5em;font-size:90%;"><span class="image"><img alt="Gulf War Photobox.jpg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Gulf_War_Photobox.jpg/300px-Gulf_War_Photobox.jpg" width="300" height="368" /></span><br />Clockwise from top: <span class="mw-redirect">USAF</span> aircraft flying over burning Kuwaiti oil wells; British troops in Operation Granby; Camera view from a Lockheed AC-130; <span class="mw-redirect">Highway of death</span>; M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> <table class="infobox" style="width: 100%; margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; border: 0pt none;"> <tbody><tr> <th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th> <td>August 2, 1990 – February 28, 1991 (Operation Desert Storm officially ended 30 November 1995)<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></td> </tr> <tr> <th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th> <td><span class="location">Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia</span></td> </tr> <tr> <th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th> <td><span class="mw-redirect">Coalition</span> victory <ul><li>Imposition of sanctions against Iraq</li><li>Removal of Iraqi invasion force from Kuwait</li><li>Heavy Iraqi casualties and destruction of Iraqi and Kuwaiti infrastructure</li></ul> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2" style="background-color: rgb(176, 196, 222); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">Belligerents</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; border-right: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170);"><b><span class="mw-redirect">Coalition forces</span></b> <p><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Flag_of_Kuwait.svg/22px-Flag_of_Kuwait.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="11" /> </span>Kuwait<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="12" /> </span>United States<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /> </span>Saudi Arabia<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="11" /> </span>United Kingdom<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Flag_of_Egypt.svg/22px-Flag_of_Egypt.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /> </span>Egypt<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_Arab_Emirates.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="11" /> </span>United Arab Emirates<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Flag_of_France.svg/22px-Flag_of_France.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /> </span>France<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg/22px-Flag_of_Belgium_%28civil%29.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /> </span>Belgium<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Flag_of_Morocco.svg/22px-Flag_of_Morocco.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /> </span>Morocco<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Flag_of_Qatar.svg/22px-Flag_of_Qatar.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="9" /> </span>Qatar<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Flag_of_Oman.svg/22px-Flag_of_Oman.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="11" /> </span>Oman<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Flag_of_Pakistan.svg/22px-Flag_of_Pakistan.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /> </span>Pakistan<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Flag_of_Canada.svg/22px-Flag_of_Canada.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="11" /> </span>Canada<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Flag_of_Argentina.svg/22px-Flag_of_Argentina.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="14" /> </span>Argentina<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Flag_of_Spain.svg/22px-Flag_of_Spain.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /> </span>Spain<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Flag_of_Italy.svg/22px-Flag_of_Italy.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /> </span>Italy<br /><i><span class="mw-redirect">and others</span></i></p> </td> <td style="width: 50%; padding-left: 0.25em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Iraq" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Flag_of_Iraq_%281963-1991%29.svg/22px-Flag_of_Iraq_%281963-1991%29.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /></span> <b>Iraq</b><br /><p><i>Supported by:</i><br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Jordan" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Flag_of_Jordan.svg/22px-Flag_of_Jordan.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="11" /></span> Jordan (Initially, though later withdrew support)<br /></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2" style="background-color: rgb(176, 196, 222); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">Commanders and leaders</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; border-right: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170);"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Kuwait" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Flag_of_Kuwait.svg/22px-Flag_of_Kuwait.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="11" /></span> Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="United States" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="12" /></span> <span class="mw-redirect">George H.W. Bush</span><br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="United States" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="12" /></span> <span class="mw-redirect">Norman Schwarzkopf</span><br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="United States" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="12" /></span> Colin Powell<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="United States" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="12" /></span> Calvin Waller<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Saudi Arabia" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /></span> King Fahd<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Saudi Arabia" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /></span> Prince Abdullah<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Saudi Arabia" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /></span> Prince Sultan<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Saudi Arabia" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /></span> Turki Al-Faisal<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Saudi Arabia" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /></span> Saleh Al-Muhaya<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Saudi Arabia" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svg/22px-Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /></span> Khalid bin Sultan<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="United Kingdom" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="11" /></span> John Major<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="United Kingdom" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="11" /></span> Patrick Hine<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="United Kingdom" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="11" /></span> Andrew Wilson<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="United Kingdom" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="11" /></span> Peter de la Billière<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="United Kingdom" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/22px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="11" /></span> John Chapple<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="France" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Flag_of_France.svg/22px-Flag_of_France.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /></span> <span class="mw-redirect">Michel Roquejoffre</span><br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Egypt" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Flag_of_Egypt.svg/22px-Flag_of_Egypt.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /></span> Mohamed Hussein Tantawi<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Syria" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Flag_of_Syria.svg/22px-Flag_of_Syria.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /></span> Mustafa Tlass<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Qatar" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Flag_of_Qatar.svg/22px-Flag_of_Qatar.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="9" /></span> Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Pakistan" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Flag_of_Pakistan.svg/22px-Flag_of_Pakistan.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /></span> Mirza Aslam Beg</td> <td style="width: 50%; padding-left: 0.25em;"><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Iraq" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Flag_of_Iraq%2C_1991-2004.svg/22px-Flag_of_Iraq%2C_1991-2004.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /></span> <b>Saddam Hussein</b><br /><p><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Iraq" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Flag_of_Iraq%2C_1991-2004.svg/22px-Flag_of_Iraq%2C_1991-2004.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /></span> Ali Hassan al-Majid<br /><span class="flagicon"><img alt="Iraq" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Flag_of_Iraq%2C_1991-2004.svg/22px-Flag_of_Iraq%2C_1991-2004.svg.png" class="thumbborder" width="22" height="15" /></span> Salah Aboud Mahmoud</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2" style="background-color: rgb(176, 196, 222); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">Strength</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; border-right: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170);">959,600<br />1,820 Fighter aircraft and <span class="mw-redirect">attack aircraft</span> (1,376 American, 175 Saudi, 69 British, 42 French, 24 Canadian, 8 Italian)<br />3,318 <span class="mw-redirect">tanks</span> (mainly M1 Abrams(U.S.), Challenger 1(UK), M60(U.S.))<br />8 aircraft carriers<br />2 battleships<br />20 cruisers<br />20 destroyers<br />5 submarines</td> <td style="width: 50%; padding-left: 0.25em;">545,000 (100,000 in Kuwait)+<br />649 fighters<br />4,500 tanks (Chinese Type-59s, Type-69s, &amp; self produced T-55 T-62, about 200 Soviet Union T-72M's <span class="mw-redirect">Asad Babil</span>)<sup id="cite_ref-autogenerated3_4-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></td> </tr> <tr> <th colspan="2" style="background-color: rgb(176, 196, 222); text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;">Casualties and losses</th> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 50%; border-right: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170);">240-392 killed<br />776 wounded<br />(Coalition)<br />1,200 killed<br />(Kuwait)<br />1,490-1,592 killed total</td> <td style="width: 50%; padding-left: 0.25em;">20,000-35,000 casualties<sup id="cite_ref-ca.encarta.msn.com_6-1" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; border-top: 1px dotted rgb(170, 170, 170);"><b>Kuwaiti civilian deaths:</b><br />Over 1,000 Kuwaiti civilians estimated killed during the Iraqi occupation in addition to 300,000 made refugees.<sup id="cite_ref-useofterrorkuwait_7-0" class="reference"><span></span></sup><br /><p><b>Iraqi civilian deaths:</b><br />About 3,664 Iraqi civilians killed.<sup id="cite_ref-Wagesofwar_8-0" class="reference"><span></span></sup><br /><br /><b>Other civilian deaths:</b><br />2 Israeli civilians killed, 230 injured<sup id="cite_ref-publicpolicy.umd.edu_9-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup><br />1 Saudi civilian killed, 65 injured<sup id="cite_ref-iraqwatch.org_10-0" class="reference"><span></span><span></span></sup></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div>Peace Keeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14874022469012069282noreply@blogger.com